The house that Henry Kingsley Guest bought with a 3-pound deposit in 1917 is gone. The 2,801 square metre block in Lane Cove North is now, permanently, bushland.
Here is the full timeline of how we got here.
1917 – A 3-pound deposit
Henry Kingsley Guest, a Chatswood-raised land developer, bought the bushland block at 14 Gay Street. The terms in the local paper of the day required just a 3-pound deposit. The property would stay in the Guest family for the next 99 years.
October 2016 – On the market for the first time in 99 years
In the Cove first reported on the sale, including the family history. Henry’s son Oswald was an accountant who had his leg amputated early in life. He hand-built furniture and a custom car and raised his family there. His twin Wilfred’s neighbouring block had been subdivided over the years, but Oswald’s stayed intact. The great-grandchildren shared memories of jumping Stringybark Creek to walk up to Lane Cove Village for ice cream. Stone Real Estate listed it for auction on 26 November 2016.
2017 – First DA refused
The new owner lodged a development application to build seven townhouses with parking, driveways and landscaping which required the removal of 134 trees. Lane Cove Council refused the DA, citing significant environmental impacts.
2018 – Second DA refused
The property sold again. The new owner lodged an amended proposal and this time proposed removing 86 trees instead of 134. Council refused this DA too, citing unacceptable impacts on endangered ecological communities and the surrounding bushland.
It was this second refusal that prompted Council to consider buying the site outright.
March 2023 – Council buys the block for $3.33 million
Lane Cove Council finalised the purchase of 14 Gay Street as part of its Bushland Expansion Program, paying $3,333,000 plus acquisition costs. The block connects directly to the existing Stringybark Creek Reserve and includes mature Sydney Blue Gums, Sydney Red Gums, Blackbutts and Turpentines. The land was initially classified as Operational Land while Council determined its future use.
May 2023 – Classified as Operational Land
At the May 2023 council meeting, councillors confirmed the operational classification and allocated $75,000 from the Capital Works Reserve to fund the eventual demolition of the existing house. Council committed to a further round of community consultation on the permanent classification.
October 2023 – Three options proposed
At the October 2023 council meeting, Council engaged consultants and brought three options to the table: subdivide and build a sustainable demonstration home to recoup costs, build two micro houses as affordable housing, or rezone the entire site as bushland. We also flagged the issue in our week in review at the time.
June 2024 – The community pushes back
ITC reported on the fight to classify the land as bushland, with a campaign led by the Lane Cove North Residents Association, the Lane Cove Bushland and Conservation Society and local residents. The LCNRA published a 24-page document arguing the site should be 100% bushland, citing three endangered ecological communities, Powerful Owl and Grey Headed Flying Fox sightings, and recent sightings of Boobook Owls and an Echidna. Ninety percent of respondents to the initial consultation wanted the full site retained as bushland. We followed up in the week in review on 19 June 2024 as the consultation period closed.
15 July 2024 – The public forum
At the July 2024 council public forum, 24 out of 27 speakers spoke in favour of full bushland classification.
18 July 2024 – Councillors vote unanimously
In front of a packed public gallery, all nine councillors voted unanimously to classify the entire site as bushland (Option 3) which was against the officer’s recommendation of Option 1. We covered the outcome in our week in review 18–24 July 2024.
May 2026 – Demolition complete
The May 2026 council agenda confirmed that demolition works at 14 Gay Street are complete.
What’s next – site remediation underway
The next stage will be rehabilitated and the land will be progressively absorbed into the Stringybark Creek Reserve bushland corridor — connecting through to the Harry Howard bushwalk that Henry Guest’s great-grandchildren once played beside.
We’ll bring you the final update later in 2026 when the site officially becomes part of the reserve.
Thank you to Simon Lake from Make 14 Gay Street Lane Cove all bushland (Facebook page) for allowing ITC to use the progress photos of the transformation of the site.
