OngoingOngoing
Monitoring NSW Planning Portal for Project Updates
BCA is actively monitoring the NSW Planning Portal for any updates related to the Hewlett Street application, including scoping report publication and project milestones.
News & Updates
Follow the latest developments on the Hewlett Street proposal and BCA activities.
Upcoming
Today
Past
Event29 October 2026
BCA Town Hall and Annual General Meeting, 29 October
More than 150 residents came to BCA's town hall at Bronte Public School Hall on Thursday 29 October 2026, which was also the Association's Annual General Meeting. The presentation and both handouts are now on the project page.
Slides and handoutsDeadline2 October 2026
Take Action: Both Surveys Close 2 October
Fortis has opened a pre-lodgement community engagement process, coordinated by Colliers. A Social Impact Assessment survey is open until 2 October 2026, and two online webinars are being held on 21 and 24 September, 6:00–7:30pm. BCA is running its own survey over the same window, covering the permanent impacts of the finished building that the developer's survey does not ask about. Please complete both. The SEARs require the developer to identify how community feedback has been considered in the design, and a full Social Impact Assessment is required only if significant social impacts are identified, so what this community puts on the record now matters. See Take Action for guidance on making your answers count.
Take actionNews17 September 2026
When Exhibition Opens, Submissions Must Go Through the NSW Planning Portal
The Department's Community Participation Plan, in force from 1 September 2026, confirms how submissions on this application must be made. Because the Minister is the consent authority, submissions are lodged through the NSW Planning Portal and not by email (Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021, ss 287 and 287A). The minimum exhibition period for this pathway is 14 calendar days, or ten business days, with the concurrent rezoning exhibited in the same window, and the period from 20 December to 10 January is excluded from that count. BCA will publish the direct submission link and instructions the day exhibition opens.
News25 August 2026
Project Enters Environmental Impact Statement Phase
With the SEARs issued, the project has moved into EIS preparation. The developer has nine months from the issue of the SEARs to lodge the Environmental Impact Statement, an outer deadline of 5 March 2027 which can be extended on request, and its own published timeline targets lodgement in the second half of 2026. The EIS then goes on public exhibition for community submissions. BCA's planning work is now directed at the matters the SEARs covering letter raised: the desired future character of the Bronte headland precinct, the precedent this development would set, and whether a public benefit has been demonstrated.
News1 August 2026
State Design Review Panel Review Held
The State Design Review Panel review required by the SEARs covering letter took place in July–August 2026, with Waverley Council represented. The panel's minutes and advice letter are not public. They were issued to the applicant, Waverley Council and the Department. BCA has sought to be informed of the outcomes and continues to press for the design review to be treated as a substantive test of the proposal against the Bronte headland's character, rather than a procedural step.
News5 June 2026
Assessment Requirements Issued: Department Directs Height and FSR Be Reconsidered
The Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure issued the Secretary's Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs) for SSD-124072740. The accompanying covering letter directs that the proposed height and floor space ratio 'should be reconsidered', requires the assessment to consider the desired future character of the Bronte headland precinct and the precedent the development may set, and states that 'given the lower height limits surrounding the subject site, suitable strategic merit must be provided to demonstrate the public benefit of the development'. It also required the design to be reviewed by a State Design Review Panel convened by Government Architect NSW before lodgement.
News4 June 2026
BCA Meets the Minister for Planning
Representatives of the Bronte Community Association met with the office of the Hon. Paul Scully MP, Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, to put the community's concerns about the Hewlett Street proposal directly to government, including the scale of the proposal against the surrounding planning controls, the coastal setting, and the length of the public exhibition period. BCA also met with Dr Marjorie O'Neill MP, Member for Coogee, on 2 June.
Event11 March 2026
BCA Presents at Joint Precinct Meeting
BCA presented at the joint precinct meeting alongside Waverley Council's Executive Manager of Strategic Planning, who briefed attendees on the SSD process and the 122–128 Hewlett Street development. The meeting provided an opportunity for residents to hear directly from Council planning staff and ask questions about the HDA pathway and what it means for the community.
News27 February 2026
BCA Incorporated
The Bronte Community Association is now formally incorporated under the NSW Associations Incorporation Act 2009.
News16 February 2026
BCA Incorporation Lodged
Application for incorporation of the Bronte Community Association under the NSW Associations Incorporation Act 2009 was lodged with NSW Fair Trading.
News10 February 2026
BCA Steering Committee Formed
A steering committee of local residents has been established to formally incorporate BCA, engage professional planning and legal advisors, and coordinate the community response to the Hewlett Street SSDA.
News19 December 2025
Ministerial SSD Declaration: 19 Projects Declared
The Minister for Planning declared 19 projects as State Significant Development following HDA recommendations, including the Hewlett Street proposal. The declaration bypasses Waverley Council as consent authority.
News9 December 2025
HDA Recommends Hewlett Street as SSD
The Housing Delivery Authority recommended to the Minister that the Fortis proposal at 122–128 Hewlett Street be declared SSD under s4.36(3) of the EP&A Act, with concurrent rezoning.