A fintech entrepreneur has had his plans for a luxury Sydney mansion rejected by the Land and Environment Court, which ruled the development would monopolise harbour views on one of the city’s most exclusive streets.
Stephen Dash, founder of student loans business Credible and one of Australia’s first tech exports to Silicon Valley, sought to redevelop three neighbouring properties at Victoria Road and Drumalbyn Road in Bellevue Hill into a sprawling harbourside estate. His estimated net worth is $480 million.
The $16 million proposal, first lodged in August 2024, called for demolishing all three existing dwellings and replacing them with a nearly 12-metre-tall mansion featuring eight bedrooms, a home cinema, a tennis court, a wellness centre, a wine cellar, an outdoor kitchen and six car parking spaces. The combined 3,333-square-metre site includes three battle-axe blocks, currently occupied by a three-storey house and two semi-detached dwellings.
One of the properties was reportedly purchased for $33 million in 2023, previously the deceased estate of property developer Tom Bruer and his art dealer wife, Eva.
Neighbours push back
The proposal attracted 82 written objections from 46 residents, including 34 living in Bellevue Hill. At least 20 objectors submitted more than one submission, with one neighbour lodging ten. Concerns cited included excessive height, bulk and scale, overshadowing, view loss, and acoustic and visual privacy impacts.
The Woollahra Local Planning Panel formally refused the application on June 19, 2025, finding it would have an unacceptable impact on neighbouring properties’ views and did not minimise view loss. Planners had attempted to amend the proposal by reducing the building’s bulk and removing a chimney and lowering the roof by a metre, but those changes were not enough to secure approval.
Dash appealed the refusal to the Land and Environment Court. A conciliation attempt between the parties in October 2025 failed, and the matter proceeded to a two-day hearing in June 2026. Victoria Road resident Penelope Kontopos, who became a second respondent in December 2025, also joined proceedings to oppose the appeal.
Court dismisses appeal
Lawyers for Dash argued the proposal was acceptable and that the impact on neighbours’ views would be minor to moderate. Acting Commissioner Helena Miller disagreed and dismissed the appeal.
Miller found the proposal did not provide for adequate sharing of views and that it amounted to a monopolisation of harbour views, with the new dwelling achieving harbour views across three full levels. She described the likely impact on the next-door neighbour’s harbour views as devastating and severe.
The original refusal by the Woollahra Local Planning Panel was upheld.
