160 Oxford Street – State Significant Development SSD-97528708

Update March 17th 2026

The exhibition period has now closed and the Department has made all submissions available on the Major Projects Website. The Department has also asked the Applicant to prepare a response to the issues raised by May 6th 2026.

Of the 376 submissions listed, over 330 are listed as Objections and we note that many attempts to lodge submissions were unsuccessful, causing some frustration in the community. A number of submissions are included below including the Society’s, local councillors and other organisations.

The Paddington Society Submission (4.5MB .pdf)

Woollahra Municipal Council Submission includes in part:

……The site is located within the Paddington Heritage Conservation Area (Paddington HCA), which primarily comprises of low scale, high-density built form with a diversity of building types including terrace housing, cottages, dwellinghouses, commercial buildings, interwar flat buildings and pubs. Most of the buildings range in height from one to three storeys, which provides a human scale. The 8-9 storey development would appear out of character with the existing context…..

Alex Greenwich MP, Independent Member for Sydney, has included commentary on this development in his 16 March 2026 newsletter. In part, he states that:

…..Another development proposal to replace good functional inner city housing for low-income earners with luxury apartments is before the planning department. This time in Paddington at 160 Oxford Street where 27 well maintained studio apartments, four three-bedroom terraces, one four-bedroom house, a garage and a garden will be demolished. The new development would be spread over this entire site, incorporate another terrace home and reach eight storeys high – more than double existing heights; yet it would only deliver 40 homes, just seven more than what is existing. None of the homes will be studio or one-bedroom apartments which Paddington urgently needs to function and keep its diversity in the face of entrenched housing unaffordability…..

Read Alex’s submission (275KB .pdf)

Other Submissions include:

Woollahra Municipal Councillor, Matthew Roberston. Read Matthew Robertson’s Submission (139KB .pdf)

Residents Group. Paddington United. Read Paddington United’s Submission (9.3MB .pdf)

Woollahra Municipal Councillor, Harriet Price. Read Cr Harriet Price’s Submission (1.3MB .pdf)

The National Trust Submission states in part:

……..Paddington is a unique urban area which possesses historical, aesthetic, technical and social significance at a National and State level. An important factor in the significance of Paddington is its exceptional unity, encompassing scale, character, history, architecture and urban form.
The built environment of Paddington is an excellent example of the process of 19th century inner city urbanisation of Sydney which was largely completed by 1890. The predominant Victorian built form is an excellent representative example of the phenomena of land speculation and a ‘boom’ building period between 1870 and 1895. The terraces of Paddington clearly trace the evolution of the imported English Georgian and Regency terrace models into the distinct Australian style evident in the Victorian era terraces…..

Update March 4th 2026

Submission period 3rd March to 16 March 5PM

The developer’s application (SSD-97528708) for 148-160 Oxford Street, 6 Shadforth St and 13 Gipps Street has now been lodged on the NSW Planning Portal. The exhibition period for the eight (8) storey mixed use development comprising of 40 apartments including 10 infill affordable apartments and shops on the ground level opened on March 3rd 2026 and runs through until 5pm March 16th 2026. A period of 14 days.

The full set of documents including plans and reports can all be viewed on the NSW Government Planning Portal

If you have concerns about any part of this development and want your opinions to be noted please ensure that you lodge a submission with the NSW Department of Planning using the “Make a Submission” link on their website. This will require you to log into their site.

If you have any enquiries, please contact Victor Casasanta at victor.casasanta@dpie.nsw.gov.au

The Paddington Society will be preparing an updated detailed submission that will be available on our website shortly. Our concerns remain as before and were outlined in detail in our submission dated November 2025.

Interested individuals can also contact Paddington United at preservingpaddington@gmail.com for regular updates and further information on preparing a submission.

November 2025

An application for a State Significant Development residential development has been lodged for 160 Oxford Street Paddington. The proposal includes the demolition of existing buildings at ​142-148 and 160 Oxford Street, 13 Gipps St (garage only), and 6 Shadforth Street, Paddington​. The application was lodged with the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI) late in 2025.

Low and Mid Rise (LMR) Housing within Woollahra Muncipal Council

The proposal is one of the first to test the implications of the Low and Mid Rise (LMR) Housing within Woollahra Muncipal Council and should address the Infill Affordable Housing Provisions as they apply to WMC’s current Planning and Heritage Strategies. It is the first within the Paddington Heritage Conservation Area. The Proposal requires careful assessment and immediate attention.

The proposal also involves demolition and extensive excavation within the Paddington Heritage Conservation Area and many in the community are understandably very concerned.

The Paddington Society is also deeply concerned by this proposal and has prepared a submission opposing the development in its current form; we will be updating this site with news as it becomes available.

Oxford160 Proposal

The proposal for 160 Oxford Street includes the following:

• Demolition of existing buildings at ​142-148 and 160 Oxford Street, 13 Gipps St (garage only), and 6 Shadforth Street, Paddington​
• Retain and refurbish 13 Gipps Street, integrating a private pedestrian link to Bethel Lane
• Construction of a new 8 storey/9 level mixed-use building plus basement parking comprising:
  • Approximately 40 apartments, including some 10-12 affordable apartments (15% of Gross Floor Area)
  • Below-ground car park (4 excavated levels) with resident parking / retail storage
  • Landscaping and public domain modifications to the local streetscape
  • The developers also claim that the proposal has been designed to avoid removal and damage of prominent Oxford Street trees
  • Approximately 3 retail spaces at street level on Oxford Street

160 Oxford Street, proposed north aspect

The project developer claims to deliver high-quality homes for current and future residents, with a strong focus on connectivity, liveability, and affordability. However the proposal only includes 10-12 affordable apartments, resulting in a net loss of 15 -17 of the 27 existing genuinely affordable apartments on the 160 Oxford Street site, and replacing them with an 8/9 level building.

The proposal has been identified as State Significant Development (SSD). SSDs are determined by scale, anticipated cost, strategic importance in supporting housing delivery, and the inclusion of infill affordable housing. Under recent amendments to the Housing State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP), residential developments that include at least 15% of the gross floor area as affordable housing and have a capital investment value exceeding $75 million (in Greater Sydney) may qualify for the SSD pathway.

On November 20, the developer Toohey Miller hosted an online meeting open to the community, outlining details of the development. During the meeting the developer noted that the updated application was anticipated to be lodged in late 2025. There will be a public exhibition period in early 2026. The Society and the community are very concerned that the exhibition period is likely to fall during the holiday season.

Little Paddington Village

The site is part of the original and first grant of land in Paddington given to the Australian Subscription Library in 1840. The precinct became Little Paddington Village, made up of numerous small frontage single storey houses which were constructed to house the artisans employed for the construction of Victoria Barracks, including stonemasons, carpenters and the like. The site is therefore of particular importance to Paddington and deserves to be treated in an appropriately sympathetic way.

Community Concerns

The significant concerns of the The Paddington Society, WMC Councillors and members of the community regarding the proposal include;

• the loss of affordable housing;
• impacts to the Paddington Heritage Conservation Area (HCA), especially to the beautifully preserved and much loved original cottages that housed the workers who built Victoria Barracks;
• traffic, excavation and amenity implications;
• scale and bulk of the proposed development;
• privacy and amenity of neighbouring residents;
• sympathy with the conservation values of the street and precinct;
• overshadowing of the public open space on Oxford Street;
• impacts on Oxford Street’s Plane and Jacaranda trees;
• lack of community consultation; and
• difficulties for council and individuals navigating the complexities of a State Significant Development.

Paddington United

Interior courtyard, 160 Oxford Street

Neighbours to the development have launched Paddington United to protest the plans and the process. They have met with Allegra Spender, Federal Member for Wentworth, and Alex Greenwich, NSW State Member for Sydney. They are working closely with Councillor Harriet Price from Woollahra Municipal Council.

An article about the protest stating that “The backlash underscores a growing distaste for developers using policies designed to boost housing supply to knock down Sydney’s older, cheaper apartments for larger, expensive units – often resulting in a loss of relatively affordable homes.” was published in the SMH on November 23, at which time a petition Stop the Paddington Tower opposing the development had garnered approximately 700 signatories.

Paddington United recently contacted all who had signed the petition to ask them to contact the Minister to ask for an extension of time for submissions. Currently, the exhibition period is 14 days. The request is to extend this to 28 days, particularly as the period is likely to fall during the holiday period.

A response from Minister Scully was sent to Alex Greenwich on 27/11/25.

Interested individuals can also contact Paddington United at PreservingPaddington@gmail.com for regular updates.