Inner West Infill Project Approved in Eight Weeks

It’s the stuff of dreams for developers stuck in planning purgatory, but Braxton has managed to expedite its plans for a 2305sq m block at Lilyfield in Sydney’s Inner West. A disused aged-care facility at 17 Chapel Street will make way for a seven-lot subdivision and premium homes, according to Braxton director Andrew Donnelly. It took just eight weeks for Donnelly to win approval for the subdivision, despite normal planning timeframes of up to 18 months in Greater Sydney. Now, the site next to Leichhardt Oval has been slated for auction as a shovel-ready site dubbed Seven on the Green. It is a quick win for Braxton, and the diversified developer had key insights to share on the expedited planning process. “Securing this planning approval in eight weeks—significantly faster than standard timeframes—adds to momentum in Sydney’s infill housing delivery as the state pushes to accelerate development approvals and increase housing supply in well-connected inner-city precincts,” Donnelly said. He said it reflected the developer’s approach to working constructively with the Inner West Council to navigate the planning processes efficiently in a market where supply constraints were driving demand. ▲ A rendering of the seven Torrens title homes on the site of a former aged-care home that was approved in eight weeks. Donnelly described the planning approval as a combination of elements that worked to the developer’s advantage, including political pressure for housing, choosing the right strategy and doing the legwork. “[The] Inner West Council is under intense political pressure to accelerate housing delivery. “They just approved 30,000 new homes in September and are being publicly ranked on approval times. We benefited from perfect timing—a compliant application that helped them demonstrate progress.” There is no doubt that the pressure is on to deliver housing and planning certainty sooner . In response to the Statement of Expectation Order 2024, local councils are now being incentivised to lodge development applications within seven days of submission from July 1, 2025. And, perhaps more importantly, councils should determine applications within 105 days of lodgement. According to the NSW Planning Council league table, the Inner West Council is performing well against the timeframe expectations. About 15 per cent of NSW councils are falling outside of the 105-day lodgement period. Donnelly said being selective about the council areas targeted and the types of developments pursued was bearing fruit. “Whilst the site could deliver an apartment project, these can take 18 to 24 months, navigating design reviews and community consultation,” he said. “Our Torrens title subdivision approval required only land-use assessment—no building design, no heritage battles, just seven well-located lots that tick every box for council’s housing targets.” But the quick approval also came down to “meticulous preparation and site selection”, Donnelly said. “We identified a north-facing site already zoned appropriately, with no heritage constraints, no neighbour overlooking issues, and triple street frontage,” he said. “Through detailed pre-DA consultation with council planners, we demonstrated how transforming a disused aged-care facility into seven homes aligned well with their infill housing objectives. The result was zero community submissions—it’s almost unheard of in this location.”

Inner West Infill Project Approved in Eight Weeks

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