The New South Wales government has released detailed plans to allow towers of up to 34 storeys in Sydney’s affluent eastern suburbs, as part of a proposal it says will deliver about 9,400 new homes around Edgecliff and a planned new Woollahra railway station.
The draft plan, covering 168 hectares of land, went on public exhibition on Sept. 8.
Under the proposal, the buildings would be permitted around the existing Edgecliff railway station, and up to 32 storeys around a new heavy rail station planned for Woollahra. The government says up to 40 percent of the new dwellings would be within 200 metres of a train station.
“We can’t keep pushing all of Sydney’s growth to the west and the urban fringe while established suburbs close to jobs, transport and services are locked away from new housing,” Premier Chris Minns said.
Minister for Planning Paul Scully said Woollahra’s population had shrunk while Sydney’s total population grew.
“This rezoning will help to rectify that by unlocking thousands of new homes in the heart of Sydney close to transport, jobs, open space and services,” he said.
Minister for Housing Rose Jackson said the proposal would “open up Woollahra for thousands of new residents, with a new station on the way, more open space, and close links to the CBD.”
The new Woollahra station is due to open in 2029 and is slated to be an eight-minute trip from the Sydney CBD.
What’s in the Plan
Under the plan (pdf), developers would be required to contribute three percent of new dwellings as affordable housing, rising to as much as 15 percent on certain sites.
The government says the precinct will gain about 3.5 hectares of new and upgraded open space across 13 parks—seven of them new—plus a plaza, and up to nine kilometres of new walking and cycling paths. Up to 1,000 new local jobs are expected in the area.
Development within 800 metres of the new Woollahra station would attract a “Transport Project Component” contribution from developers of $15,000 per dwelling, or $200 per square metre of new commercial floor space, the government says.
Public exhibition of the draft plan runs until Oct. 7.
The government says heritage items in the precinct will be “retained and carefully integrated” into the area’s design, though it has not detailed how individual heritage-listed buildings or conservation areas would be affected.
An example of how high-rise design will incorporate and protect heritage features. (Courtesy of the NSW government).
A ‘Dystopian Nightmare’: Local Mayor
Not everyone is on board. Woollahra Council has been publicly critical of an earlier version of the plan—proposing up to 10,000 new homes and towers of about 25 storeys—saying it would over-develop an area that is already densely built.
Last month Woollahra Mayor Sarah Dixson said the government’s approach amounted to “a dystopian nightmare-in-waiting.”
She said the “build it and they will come” approach did not address affordability and that the plan “fails to address available space, land acquisition and necessary local infrastructure.”
The council has proposed its own alternative, allowing for about 3,600 additional dwellings.
It said its own modelling showed an increase in population of 128 percent in an area of just 2.3 square kilometres. The council also said 57 percent of the rezoning area falls within existing heritage conservation areas.
“How will young people be able to afford these new apartments?” she asked, citing average prices in the area were already at $1.5 million to $2 million for a two-bedroom unit, and rent costing about $4,000 a month.
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