The Land and Environment Court has refused an application by Friends of Refugees of Eastern Europe to build a new synagogue in Bondi because the developer failed to properly consider terrorism threats.

Last year, FREE took its proposal to build a synagogue and 32 apartments in Bondi to the Land and Environment Court, taking it out of the hands of the local Waverley Council.

As part of their development application, FREE included a 'preliminary threat and risk analysis' by a counter-terrorism expert. The assessment included a list of possible threats to the site, including a large car bomb (500kg), a small car bomb (100kg), a parcel bomb (10-15kg), a suicide bomber, a thrown object or hand grenade attack, small arms attack, a Molotov Cocktail, arson, an organised riot, and chemical and biological attack.

The main question considered by the court was whether the development application included sufficient assessment of the threats, in particular "the impact on nearby residents, motorists and pedestrians in Wellington Street as a consequence of the threats identified".

The Court refused the appeal on the basis that the applicant did not adequately address those threats. 

The caselaw states the application "makes general comments on the risk of terrorist attacks internationally, nationally and to Jewish people, (but) there is no specific risk assessment for the site".

"It would seem that a more sophisticated risk assessment process could be required for matters such as a potential terrorist threat," the caselaw said.

Read the Land and Environment Court's finding in full here.

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