Mosman, Sydney residents furious as federation home is replaced by apartments

Residents in one of Sydney's wealthiest suburbs have been left furious after a court ruled a 117-year-old federation home can be knocked down and replaced by a three-storey apartment building.

The five-bedroom home at 92 Raglan Street in Mosman, on the city's lower north shore, has been standing since 1906 but will now be torn down.

The Mosman Municipal Council initially rejected a development application for the three-unit building, but an appeal by the developer was upheld by the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales last Tuesday.

The apartment block will consist of three three-bedroom units, each with an outdoor terrace and open-plan living and dining area. The build is estimated to cost more than $4million.

An underground car park with six spots will also be built.

The council received 96 submissions from residents, the majority of which opposed development of the 'eyesore'.

'The house is a wonderful and historic home in the streetscape, and I fear this will open the floodgates for more beautiful old homes in the suburb to be gone in the name of "progress", one local said.

'What an absolute travesty.'

Another Mosman resident said: 'This 1906 beauty looks to be in good repair and well maintained, making a significant positive impact on Raglan St and the suburb as well.

'It is character-full and in keeping with the streetscape and heritage of our neighbourhood. I most strongly object to its demolishment and replacement by something totally out of sync with the traditional architectural styles of Mosman.'

One woman who lives directly next door to the house said the development not only impacted on the aesthetic of the neighbourhood but also disrupted her privacy.

'I think it is sacrilege that consideration is being given to tearing it down to be replaced by a soulless block of flats that will be detrimental to the unique Raglan St streetscape,' she wrote.

'Personally, as the most impacted resident to this development it will have a seriously detrimental effect on my privacy, security and quality of life with the potential to negatively impact the valuation of my property.'

A fourth simply added that the proposed apartment block 'looks like a carpark or a toilet block.'

A Mosman Council spokesperson said the development application was approved by the court 'following significant amendments to the design' at the council's request.

'This included increased building setbacks, reduction in height and reconfiguration of the floor plan,' the spokesperson said.

'Given the concerns raised by neighbours about the original refused design, Council invited all objectors (80) to address the Court on their concerns during the Hearing. 

'However, no objectors chose to address the Court.'

The house at 92 Raglan St, known as Gargrave, is two storeys and includes a pool and a wrap-around veranda.

It last sold for $5.325million in February, 2019, and is now estimated to be worth $7.47million.

When news broke that demolition of the house had been approved, locals were quick to express their disgust.

'These kinds of homes are what makes suburbs like Mosman unique. As an ex-architect, now builder, and proud Mosman resident a few doors down, I cannot express how much this saddens me,' one local said on social media.

'Why demolish this beautiful history to make way for a development you can find in literally any other suburb in any other part of Sydney? Shocked, upset and angry.'

'Federation architecture has a grandeur that the modern stuff doesn't have. Most of the new stuff looks like offices, rather than homes,' said another.

'Soon Mosman will be just another suburb with large blocks of flats, no gardens, just suburbia, all the charm lost except for the sea around us,' one person said.

Long-time local Toni earlier told Daily Mail Australia: 'We don't want high-rises. They keep knocking down federation homes and for what?' 

'They don't need to be knocking down our old houses. It's our history. They're making everything look like metal and plastic.

'I'm sorry, but developer gain isn't worth our history.'

Neighbour Craig Meade said of the heritage building: 'If the home's been there for 117 years, then it should be there in another 117.'

Another resident called the demolition a 'disgrace'.

'It's a building that's valued. We've already got a hell of a lot of development and huge housing,' they said.

'It's just unattractive. I'm constantly driving down the street and seeing cranes everywhere.'

Local Pauline said the new developments around Mosman were not sustainable, with too many people trying to cram into the small area.

'It's just getting too overcrowded, there's too much traffic. It's just unbelievable,' she said.

'You used to want to come down to the local beach, Balmoral, on weekends. It used to be fantastic.

'I'm not against people coming to the beach, but now it's getting so bad with all the cars and people, you can't move.

'There's room for people to visit, but there's not enough living room.'

However, some locals said not every home is more important than building housing.

'A home being old and well looked after is not reason enough to warrant preservation. All heritage protections come at an immense opportunity cost,' Will Solomon wrote.

'While it's important to keep prominent examples of historic styles, it's unrealistic to expect the standards for preservation to be so low as to make every house like this one protected.

'In a city that is crippled by a housing affordability and availability crisis, it's a very insular thing to suggest the cultural value of this architecturally mundane structure is greater than the material value of more housing.'

Local Richard Lipscomb said he sees 'no problem' with Mosman's changing atmosphere.

'Mosman has a long history of development,' he said.

'Everyone comes into the neighbourhood and spends their money on upgrading.

'Properties that were worth half a million 10 years ago are now going for two million.

'I’m pro-development.'