What Was He Thinking? Barden Ridge Bloke Builds Bond Villain Lair in the Last Place You’d Expect

Finn Seabrook | Local Correspondent | Sutherland Shire Gazette

20 August 2026

Locals are still scratching their heads after a Barden Ridge developer bulldozed protected bushland to begin building what can only be described as the Shire’s first suburban Bond villain lair.

Plans for the mega-mansion, that looks like its been generated by a SimCity fan, included a tenpin bowling alley, indoor basketball court, a cinema with popcorn bar, a gym with sauna, a private library, a man cave, and a swimming pool featuring a floating “hammock island.”

The question on everyone’s lips isn’t how he planned to build it, but why Barden Ridge?

“Look, if you told me someone in Vaucluse or Palm Beach was putting in a hammock island, I’d roll my eyes and move on,” said one resident. “But Barden Ridge? We’re a suburb where people still fight over who gets the best spot at the soccer club BBQ.”

Even real estate experts admit the choice of location defies logic. “This wasn’t going to be a house, it was going to be Wet’n’Wild meets Hoyts,” said one agent. “You don’t usually find that in a postcode better known for cul-de-sacs and utes on driveways.”

The developer has since been fined $109,000 and ordered to plant almost 39,000 native trees and shrubs -  a penalty many say doesn’t come close to matching the environmental damage. Critics note it’s about the same as “charging a parking fine for demolishing the Opera House.” 

Let’s hope it grows faster than the developer’s sense of humility.

But the real tragedy, according to locals, is the sheer mismatch of dream and location. “He thought he was building a lifestyle empire,” said one neighbour. “What he was really building was the world’s fanciest man cave - in a suburb where the local highlight is the Bunnings sausage sizzle.”

While some admit the lair might have spiced up the area, others are just relieved the bushland will be restored. “The Powerful Owls deserve better than sharing a postcode with a bloke who thought Bardon Ridge was the new Beverly Hills,” one ecologist noted.

As for the developer? Locals suggest he might have more luck pitching his next mega-mansion somewhere more appropriate. “Honestly,” one resident sighed. “If you want a hammock island, at least put it somewhere with a café culture. Not next to the Menai bypass.”