Herbert Street Leura - Safety First

In 2020, in good faith, the residents trusted the Council and the original café lessees of the Sorensen Glasshouse Gardens and Nursery, agreeing to a café in place of a kiosk to supplement the historic Paul Sorensen's Nursery at 8 Herbert Street, Leura, NSW 2780.

Paul Sorensen was a world-renowned landscape gardener who was a significant influence on the design of gardens in the Blue Mountains.

Many of the residents based their approval of a small café on the Sorensen Glasshouse Gardens and Nursery site on the recommendations in the Boskae Environmental Planning Report, which formed part of the submission to DA X/681-2020.

The approved DA included 12 car parking spaces in Herbert Street, which were ample for the approved business model, which included a café seating 17 patrons inside the glasshouse and retail nursery area, and 20 patrons sitting in the arboretum. A café would supplement the nursery's income, which would go towards the rejuvenation of the historic gardens. The original lessees also proposed to include educational material about Paul Sorensen's original nursery site.

In May 2023, Haven Blue Mountains Pty Ltd purchased Sorensen's Glasshouse and Nursery business, and, upon doing so, scrapped the café, nursery, garden, and education model outlined in the approved DA X/681-2020, opting instead for a café/restaurant.

As absurd as it sounds, the Sorensen Glasshouse Café/Restaurant has seating for 90 patrons: 50 inside the glasshouse, occupying all the retail nursery space, and an additional 40 in the arboretum, offering 21 seating times at 15-minute increments, seven days a week.

Herbert Street is zoned Conservation Environmental Living. It is a short, narrow street. There is no footpath, no curb and gutter, and no loading zone for the constant flow of food trucks feeding the masses. The continuous flow of traffic has created an unsafe environment for residents, visitors, and patrons of the Sorensen Glasshouse Café/Restaurant.

The compliance breach began in May 2023. It was not until October 17, 2024, that the Council was informed of the non-compliance, which has significantly impacted the amenity of Herbert Street over the past two years.

Rather than enforcing the approved DA X681/2020, the Council has allowed the café's lessees to continue working at full capacity, despite residents informing the Council that the extra traffic has created serious safety issues in Herbert Street. During this time, there have been two car accidents on Herbert Street, involving residents' vehicles and those of patrons of the Sorenson Glasshouse Café/Restaurant.

Under normal circumstances, when a business breaches its compliance obligations, the Council would act swiftly to enforce the conditions of the approved DA. The company in breach is then allowed to submit a modification. But in this instance, the relevant council departments continue to fail to address residents' safety concerns by allowing the Sorensen Glasshouse Café/Restaurant to operate illegally at full capacity.