Sydney’s Inner West Council has criticised the state government for allowing a bizarre Lewisham development, where one side is a five-storey apartment tower and the other half a semi.

But then it was forced to withdraw this criticism when it was directed to documents showing it agreed to the development.

The development, at 8 William Street, is so close to the neighbouring property that the two buildings are touching.

After images of the development appeared on social media, a spokeswoman for the Inner West Council claimed the former Marrickville Council refused the development in 2014, but this decision was overturned by the Land and Environment Court after an appeal from the developer.

“This is an example of a very poor built form outcome, and the Land and Environment Court/state government should be the ones answering for it,” the spokeswoman said.

But court documents show it was the council that came to the agreement with the developers during the appeal process “at or after a conciliation conference” with Statewide Planning.

And the commissioner was not required to make “any merit assessment of the issues that were originally in dispute between the parties”.

The Inner West Council has since revised its initial statement, with the spokeswoman clarifying the development was approved by the court with the agreement of council.

“Whilst the development is clearly out of character with the adjoining single-storey dwelling, the area is in a state of transition given its zoning and context and the relationship between the adjoining dwellings was not considered to warrant refusal of the application,” she said.

“It is not unusual in areas that have been significantly upzoned to have short-term issues of this nature.

“In the long run, it is more than reasonable to expect that 6 William Street and the other remaining properties along the street will be redeveloped in a form similar to the subject property.”

As it turns out, the street’s other residents are looking to make a deal of their own.

Those at the other end of the T-junction from William Street – six homes from 60 to 70 Old Canterbury Road – are about to hit the market to be offered for redevelopment.

The Old Canterbury Road homes are zoned B4, which requires a mix of commercial and residential properties. The homes on William Street are zoned R4 – a high-density zoning, which is often more lucrative for developers.

All the homes on William Street were rezoned in 2011, as part of the McGill Street Precinct, from low-density light industrial properties to high-density residential, allowing for buildings of five storeys.