Federal government intervenes in uni housing stoush as acting school boss chokes up

The federal government has intervened in a stoush between UNSW and drama college NIDA over a controversial 1000-bed student housing project, warning the university it could be in breach of a long-term lease by pushing the development through.

It comes despite the Commonwealth telling universities they must build more accommodation if they want more international students, and committing NSW to building 377,000 new homes by 2029 through the National Housing Accord.

A render of the proposed student housing development on Anzac Parade, opposite UNSW.

At a planning panel hearing on Tuesday, NIDA unleashed a full court press, with chief executive Liz Hughes fighting back tears as she said the planned 16-storey building would “destroy NIDA’s ability to operate”, while NIDA board member and actor Sigrid Thornton said it “threatens to sabotage NIDA’s viability”.

The drama concerns a proposal by UNSW and private student housing provider Iglu to build 15- and 16-storey towers on a university-owned car park on Anzac Parade. The site is across the road from the main UNSW campus, and beside a light rail station and NIDA.

The current version of the proposal was reduced from 23 and 20 storeys following outrage from Randwick Council, neighbours and NIDA. However, they still oppose the smaller scheme.

NIDA chair Catherine West (who also chairs Nine, owner of the Herald) addressed the panel on Tuesday and referenced the Commonwealth’s concerns. “I cannot overestimate the long-term impact on NIDA,” she said.

A map of the controversial proposal, which sits at the end of University Mall.

The Herald obtained a July 31 letter from federal arts department deputy secretary Stephen Arnott to UNSW chancellor David Gonski, in which Arnott said he was particularly concerned about the development’s impact on NIDA’s operations and the Commonwealth’s rights as the leaseholder.

“The department is concerned that the proposed development may give rise to UNSW being in breach of its obligations under the lease to the Commonwealth and is seeking that there be an appropriate alignment ... to work together to resolve any concerns,” it said.

In a separate letter to Carl Scully, chair of the independent planning panel which is to decide the matter, Arnott underlined NIDA’s concerns about disruption to its operations. The school would have to relocate staff and students, he said, and “I understand that neither Iglu nor UNSW are contemplating an offer of compensation”. Neither was the federal government, he noted.

Arnott did not suggest the development should be blocked, but said appropriate controls and conditions – such as bigger setbacks from NIDA’s building – should be imposed if it proceeds.

Actor and NIDA board member Sigrid Thornton addressed the planning panel to say the housing development would destroy NIDA.

Thornton, who won a Silver Logie in 2000 for the ABC drama SeaChange, said the development threatened “not merely a physical space, but a foundational pillar of the entire Australian arts sector”.

“It’s hard to comprehend the situation we find ourselves in today, where our most talented Australians – the creative visionaries of the future – could be disenfranchised and uprooted by a development which caters solely to very wealthy students,” Thornton told Tuesday’s hearing.

Director and NIDA graduate Benjamin Schostakowski said the presence of a high-rise building carried “significant safety risks” and would hinder drama students’ concentration and creative endeavour.

The drama school also recruited alumni including Mel Gibson and Richard Roxburgh to sign a letter to UNSW opposing the development.

The Sydney Eastern City Planning Panel is one of several independent panels established by the state government to assess large or controversial development proposals.

An exasperated Scully said the site had been left fallow for 22 years, and blamed the three major stakeholders for letting it fester without a clear plan or controls.

“University, council, NIDA could have acted to deal with these things years ago,” he said. “There were so many things that the three parties could have properly addressed that are now left on our desk to try to wade through.”

About a dozen NIDA representatives addressed the panel, in addition to pre-meeting briefings. Scully said NIDA “has had more opportunities as an interested stakeholder than any others I’ve witnessed in seven years of chairing this panel”.

The panel is due to meet again next week to discuss potential amendments to the development, suggesting it may be approved in some form. NIDA argued the decision should be referred up the chain to Planning Minister Paul Scully. “In our view, any other approach would be unsupportable,” West said.

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