Lendlease SW Sydney Scheme in Doubt as Appeal Rejected

The future of a major estate at Campbelltown in Sydney’s south-west is under a cloud after a court loss for developer Lendlease.

The developer has substantial plans for its Gilead masterplanned development, 53km from Sydney CBD, second stage expansion of which has been approved for 3300 homes. 

But the future of the project is unclear after a dispute with the landowners of the historic Mount Gilead Estate. 

According to documents filed the NSW Court of Appeals, Lendlease inked a put and call agreement with the landowners, Mount Gilead Pty Ltd and Mount Gilead (Access) Pty Ltd, entities associated with Katrina Hobhouse of the Macarthur-Onslow family. 

The deal was for the sale of several parcels of land for $200 million, locking them in for a future sale at agreed terms. 

The deal outlined a staged sale over 12 years of large areas of farmland south of Campbelltown near the Nepean river, part of the historic 882ha Mount Gilead Estate, to Lendlease.

This included stage one and stage two of the Gilead project. 

The parcels now in dispute, lots six through 10, relate to the 487ha second stage, more than half of which is earmarked for conservation. 

These lots were priced between $10 million and $40 million apiece, totalling about $120 million.

▲ A map of Lendlease's Gilead and Figtree Hill masterplanned communities.

The land was first to be subdivided, putting the onus on the landowners to pursue development consent for the subdivision based on plans drawn up by Lendlease. 

However, Lendlease failed to accept the offer to buy the first parcel by the June 2024 sunset date because rezoning, one of the conditions set, had not occurred.

Under the terms of the contract, the developer lost the right to acquire it, or the subsequent parcels. 

Seeking to keep the project alive, Lendlease proposed to buy all of the land in parcels seven through to 10 in one go, and also sent a significantly altered subdivision plan. 

The dispute emerged over whether the landowners were obliged to accept and lodge the subdivision plan or sell the remaining sites, given that Lendlease had not acquired the initial site.

Lendlease launched an action in the Supreme Court of New South Wales in April 2025, seeking damages in addition to forcing the sale of the land.

But Judge James Stevenson said that Lendlease had lost the right to acquire the remaining properties, and that Lendlease’s late subdivision plan was not based on initial annexure plans. 

▲ The first stage of the development, Figtree Hill, was approved in 2019.

Lendlease appealed against the judgement, which was heard in the NSW Court of Appeals early this month, arguing that the original judge erred in their understanding of the contract. 

However, the trio of appeal court judges agreed with the outcome of the first case. 

They said that the contract stipulated all the land be acquired sequentially, and that Lendlease’s proposed acquisition of the sites collectively after the sunset date for property six would create “several uncommercial outcomes”. 

The court said that the landowners had “substantial and onerous” obligations under the initial contract, including selling utility land to authorities for $1. 

The court reiterated that because Lendlease did not complete on the initial property, it lost the right to acquire the remaining properties. It dismissed the appeal, with costs.

“We note the court’s judgement and we’re considering our position,” a Lendlease spokesperson told The Urban Developer.

The Mount Gilead Estate in the southern part of the Campbelltown City Council local government area at Gilead comprises three precincts.

Figtree Hill development was stage one of the Gilead project by Landlease, and formed properties 1 to 5 of the deal. The 1700-home development was approved in 2019. 

Lendlease has opened the first stage of more than 300 new home sites, and the remainder of the Figtree Hill parcel is now under development by Stockland.