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Updated ,first published
Ku-ring-gai Council has put the brakes on plans to close down several local roads and sell them to a billionaire property developer’s company, after staff warned the proposal could not proceed in its current form and risked unlawfully cutting property owners off their land.
Council staff also cautioned that the concept plans for the St Ives Shopping Village redevelopment released by Iris Capital, which have attracted 126 objections, lacked enough detail for a decision to be made and did not satisfy the requirements of the Roads Act.
The developer Iris Capital, a pub, pokies and property empire belonging to billionaire Sam Arnaout, must now rework the proposal to council’s standards before it can be put out to public exhibition again.
The saga has raised questions about why the council released the half-baked plans for consultation in November, after it had previously stipulated the public exhibition needed to contain “more detailed concepts of what is proposed”.
A council spokeswoman defended its handling of the matter, saying it had followed normal processes.
The developments follow an investigation by this masthead in July that revealed Transport for NSW had expressed concern it had not been given enough detail to properly assess the proposal in correspondence to the council obtained under freedom of information.
The investigation also revealed the state’s transport officials only discovered the planned changes included a new intersection on one of the north shore’s busiest thoroughfares while perusing a promotional website set up by Iris Capital.
Iris Capital splashed out a record-breaking $450 million for the top-performing neighbourhood shopping centre and 12 adjoining sites in April 2025.
It launched a website spruiking its plans for a “human-centred market and cultural experience” featuring a seven-screen cinema and a tavern with a sprawling gambling den.
The developer told the council its plans were only commercially viable if it could buy and shut down Denley Lane, Cowan Lane and Durham Avenue, three council-owned streets around the shopping centre.
The proposal also included the dedication of a new public road intersecting with Mona Vale Road, requiring Transport for NSW’s approval.
Tuesday’s council meeting heard 126 submissions objecting the road closure proposal, and 15 in support. Much of the community angst centred on the tavern, a proposal that will be decided by a separate stand-alone development application and is not connected to the road closures.
The council consultant who managed the public exhibition, Craig Barnes, reported strong community pushback against the sale of public land for private gain, concerns it would set a bad precedent for the local government area, and threats of legal action to block the closures.
Barnes dismissed the precedent concern, noting council would judge each road closure proposal on its merits, and said Iris Capital had outlined a range of community benefits stemming from the redevelopment plans.
In their report, council staff said that Iris Capital’s road closure proposal couldn’t be progressed at this time.
This was because it was “more in the form of an illustrative scheme or concept rather than a definitive proposal that fully meets the requirements of the Roads Act”.
Councillors unanimously agreed to postpone a decision until the company had developed detailed plans that fully complied with the legislation and addressed data gaps identified by Barnes’ report.
Iris Capital would have to obtain Transport for NSW’s approval to reconfigure local traffic routes, and develop a traffic management plan addressing current and future vehicle movements, access to the council car park and pedestrian impacts.
Council staff said the proposal would also need to be altered to exclude Durham Avenue and part of Denley Lane because alternative access for impacted property owners “does not appear to be feasible”.
Under the Roads Act, a council can only close a public road if it is not needed by the public or existing road network and an alternative public road is provided to any affected property owners.
Council staff noted they had held a number of briefings with Iris Capital, which had accepted it would need to refine the proposal and provide additional detail.
The developer said it would be prepared to commit to council’s requirements if the council confirmed its “preparedness to close the roads” and sell off the land at market value.
This masthead asked Iris Capital if its comment meant it did not want to prepare the required detail unless the closure of the roads was a fait accompli. It did not respond before publication.
Council ultimately agreed to offer “in principle preparedness” to consider the sale of its land for use in the shopping centre redevelopment, provided the company met its conditions.
The council spokeswoman said: “Iris Capital has been given the opportunity to address feedback received during the process and acknowledged this during a recent public forum prior to the council meeting.”
Council staff concluded the redevelopment had clear benefits, but there was a risk of failing to satisfactorily resolve valid objections.
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