Newcastle Post Office restoration approval faces April lapse date

19 February 2026

newy.com.au – The development approval for the restoration of Newcastle’s historic Post Office will lapse on 8 April unless construction or engineering work starts before then, the City of Newcastle says.

The city said the site’s owner, Dr Jerry Schwartz, bought the landmark in 2018 with plans to invest more than $3.6 million to convert it into a conference centre with retail shops, a café and an Aboriginal cultural centre.

City of Newcastle approved the original proposal in April 2021, before the Schwartz Family Company lodged a modification to the design three years later.

That modified development application was approved in March 2025 after changes that included removing a proposed additional level and an onsite residence, following feedback from City of Newcastle staff, the city’s Urban Design Review Panel and the Heritage Council of NSW.

The city said the Schwartz Family Company had recently lodged a Section 60 application to the State Government for work on the Post Office roof, but legal advice obtained by City of Newcastle confirmed it would not prevent the development application from lapsing.

City of Newcastle executive director planning and environment Michelle Bisson said the council remained hopeful restoration would begin before the deadline and insisted nothing on its end was delaying work.

“City of Newcastle currently has no applications relating to the Post Office that would be holding up work,” Bisson said.

“We’ve met with Dr Schwartz to remind him that work needs to begin at the Newcastle Post Office before 8 April or the DA will lapse. It would be a deeply disappointing result should the approval lapse,” she said.

Bisson said development consent lapsed five years after it became operational if no work had begun, and that modifying an approved application did not change the original commencement or lapse date.

“Dr Schwartz still needs a construction certificate for work to begin at the site and our records show that one has not been lodged with City of Newcastle or with a private certifier,” she said.

The city said the applicant was granted a section 138 approval on 21 August 2025, which it said cleared the way for the remaining steps to obtain a construction certificate.

Schwartz secured a $1 million NSW Heritage Grant in July 2025 to assist with restoration works, including bringing original features such as columns, windows and doors back to life, the city said. Planned additions include a glass roof over the first-floor terrace and restoration of two existing fireplaces in the proposed function room.

A spokesperson for the Schwartz Family Company told newy.com.au work would start before the deadline.

If works do not commence before the deadline, the approval will lapse and any proposal to redevelop the building would need to return through the planning system.