First published 12 Oct 2026, 7:28am
Sonia Kruger and partner Craig McPherson are refusing to give up on their $16m Sydney home overhaul, lodging yet another round of revised plans despite fierce neighbour pushback.
The TV personality and media executive have submitted amended development applications to Mosman Council on Sydney’s lower north shore after their previous attempt was knocked back, according to media reports.
The couple originally lodged plans in November last year to bulldoze the Balmoral Slopes home and build a four-bedroom luxury property.
The proposed build featured two elevated swimming pools and was estimated to cost $6.9m.
However, the proposed 10.81m height sparked furious neighbour complaints over privacy and blocked views.
The backlash prompted one household to demand height poles be installed to gauge the impact.
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Sonia Kruger and partner Craig McPherson are refusing to give up on their $16m Sydney home overhaul.
Despite amended designs by Koichi Takada Architects, the Mosman Local Planning Panel formally refused the proposal in July on five separate grounds.
The rejected plans had reduced the building height, altered a pool and removed a sunken seating area.
Now, newly submitted plans show further scale reductions, internal layout shifts, planter box adjustments and a relocated pool, but local residents remain firmly unsatisfied.
Town planner James Lovell, representing two local homeowners, noted the amended application still exceeds council standards.
“The amended development continues to exceed both the maximum building height and the maximum wall height development standards,” Mr Lovell noted.
He pointed out the revised plans identify a maximum building height of 9.1m, exceeding the 8.5m standard by 600mm.
The proposed build featured two elevated swimming pools and was estimated to cost $6.9m. Picture: Supplied
Meanwhile, the proposed 8.62m wall height exceeds the 7.2m limit by 1.42m.
Other residents raised red flags over pool placement and privacy, with one neighbour writing that anyone standing on the main bedroom deck would look directly into their pool area.
“This deck should either be lowered by 1m or solid screening provided to maintain privacy for both parties,” the resident wrote, while also demanding existing height poles be updated to reflect the new plans.
“In our view, this amended application can still not be approved without significant change as it still does not comply in key areas.”
While one resident expressed support for the overhaul, Mosman Council is continuing to consider the proposal, with public submissions open until October 21.
One neighbour had previously said the plans sparked “shock and deep concern”.
“(The development is) depriving me of my privacy and causing noise across not only my property but (surrounding neighbours).”
Architectural plans for the proposed house. Picture: Supplied
The proposed 10.81m height sparked furious neighbour complaints over privacy and blocked views. Picture: Mosman Council
The media power couple purchased the auction site in March last year for $16.1m.
The property reportedly blew $4.6m past its reserve in a fiercely contested battle against six other bidders.
The deceased estate was previously owned by the family of milk bar proprietors George and Hariclea Psaltis, who bought the original three-bedroom home for just $31,000 in 1967.
The purchase came shortly after Kruger and McPherson sold their previous Mosman residence for $19m to Primo Smallgoods matriarch Maria Hunt.
The ongoing property dispute comes amid reports Kruger has been assembling a reel of career highlights.
The TV presenter is reportedly pitching to prospective employers in the US and UK after spending more than three decades ping-ponging between the Seven and Nine networks.
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