High-rise school scrapped in exchange for even more units

Plans to shoehorn a new school underneath a massive high-rise apartment block have been scrapped by the state government following a community outcry, with the developer and majority landholder to build another 600 apartments.

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Plans to shoehorn a new school underneath a massive high-rise apartment block have been scrapped by the state government following a community outcry.

Instead, a new primary school in Sydney’s inner west will be built on its own site and have room for 1000 students instead of the original 600.

The Sunday Telegraph can also reveal that, in exchange for the larger school at Rhodes East, the state government will allow developer and majority landholder Billbergia to build another 600 apartments in Rhodes West.

This would take the three 40-storey towers at Rhodes Central now under construction up another six storeys.

Department of Planning images of the proposed Rhodes East precinct.

That’s on top of the 3600 new dwellings that will be built on the 36ha precinct between Concord Rd and the railway lines.

When the precinct is finished it will house a population greater than Bathurst Council — within a 1km radius.

While community members claim Rhodes East “will put Hong Kong to shame” and “destroy the area”, the Department of Planning is delighted.

“We are delivering what the community wants with more open space, including a 7800sq m new foreshore park, a promenade along the Parramatta River, and greater walkability,” DoP deputy secretary of planning and design Brett Whitworth said.

“The draft plan includes a site for a new one-hectare school and improved walkways, to connect residents to public transport.”

The new foreshore park proposed for Rhodes East would be surrounded by apartment blocks at least 20 storeys high.

Drummoyne Liberal MP John Sidoti said, unlike Rhodes West, the Rhodes East precinct will get infrastructure before apartments go in.

“There are a lot of people complaining about overdevelopment, but what people will get here will be quite different,” he said.

“The developers are big players investing in the community.”

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The Sunday Telegraph has seen leaked plans showing the whole Leeds St foreshore park being swallowed up by 12-15 storey towers.

Those plans have since been abandoned in favour of higher towers and more open space.

The government is considering an offer of $360 million from Billbergia to fund an upgraded Rhodes train station, new school and open space.

Known as a Voluntary Planning Agreement, it is the biggest VPA ever offered in NSW, Billbergia development director Rick Graf said.

Developer Billbergia is offering the State Government $360m to upgrade infrastructure including Rhodes Station. In exchange they would get more density.

The Department of Planning said it is still considering the offer.

Earlier this year Planning Minister Anthony Roberts ordered his department to investigate “opaqueness” of VPAs, saying the whole system needed to be overhauled.

“The new plan is a much better plan than the old one,” Mr Graf said.

Mr Graf also said the density of Rhodes East will be similar to that of Rhodes West.

Billbergia is planning to have an additional 1200 jobs in the precinct in order to ensure people do not have to travel far to work.

Five high rise apartments are set to be built in Rhodes as part of the Rhodes Station precinct.

The aim is to have 25,500 jobs by 2036.

“The target is to have more jobs than Sydney Airport,” Mr Graf said.

“The plan is not likely to be controversial. We are putting in infrastructure before the development.

“We are not the sort of developers who put a building up and then walk away. We are here for a long time.”

Ian Inglis has lived and worked in Rhodes West for more than a decade and has watched the peninsula’s population increase by 1500 per cent during that time.

He said Rhodes West has already copped enough development, so Rhodes East should be left alone.

Rhodes resident Ian Inglis thinks Rhodes has suffered from chronic overdevelopment and needs to stop.

There are 274 homes in Rhodes East. Rhodes West has about 5000.

“It is planning by revenue and absolutely ridiculous,” Mr Inglis said.

“The original plan to have kids living in high rise — and then going to school in high rise — was just plain wrong.

“There are so many parts of Sydney that have copped no development. Why don’t they take these towers to Hunters Hill?”

Under the plan the current 40 storey heights could go 46 storeys or higher.

Each area will be the subject of a design competition run by the NSW Government Architect.

Only three bedroom apartments will have a guaranteed parking space because the government wants to “minimise vehicular traffic generated in the precinct”.

Education Minister Rob Stokes said: “We’re committed to building world-class education facilities across NSW and I’m pleased that plans are progressing to support the local community in Rhodes”.

NSW Education Minister Rob Stokes supports the expansion of a new school at Rhodes East.

The area has been one of the most challenging and transformative urban renewal projects ever undertaken.

Large parts of Rhodes West were taken up by the Lednez and Allied Feeds industrial sites.

During the Vietnam War the chemical Agent Orange was produced there, permanently damaging the riverbed and forcing developers to remove tonnes of contaminated soil.

The former industrial area is also the main reason why fishers west of the Harbour Bridge are advised against eating their catch.

The development of Rhodes East, Rhodes West and Wentworth Point will see 50,000 people living within a 1km radius.

That’s slightly more than the whole population in Bathurst council area, spread across 3820sq km.

The precinct plan will be on exhibition until February 2019.

Canada Bay recommended the state government look at the are for redevelopment in 2015.

Canada Bay Council Mayor Angelo Tsirekas said the council “has been working constructively with the state government for many years to ensure that our residents and community members are assured proper planning”.

Originally published as High-rise school scrapped in exchange for even more units