Moore Point project needs to get out of ‘bureaucratic quagmire’: Mayor Ned Mannoun

A new development for Liverpool has become bogged down in red tape, argues Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun.

A proposal for a huge new housing and office precinct in Liverpool is being delayed in a bureaucratic “planning quagmire” says a South Western Sydney mayor.

Liverpool mayor Ned Mannoun has called for the Premier Dom Perrottet to “get behind” the giant Moore Point project, saying if it was in the eastern suburbs, it would be full steam ahead.

The urban renewal project, proposed by two private companies, would see industrial land on the Georges River opposite Liverpool’s CBD transformed into 30 buildings including 14,783 new residential apartments, commercial offices and an entertainment precinct of cafes and restaurants.

The huge development would be staged over 30 to 40 years and provide space for 23,000 workers, planning documents say.

Mr Mannoun said it was a state significant project but had been neglected by the State Government.

“If it was in the east, the government would be moving heaven and earth to make it happen,” he said.

Moore Point proposed development at Liverpool. Picture: Supplied by NSW Government

“But because it’s in the west, all they do is find problems with it.

“It’s just been going around in circles for seven years. Why is it taking so long? It’s caught up in a quagmire of planning moving at snail’s pace.

“We need someone senior from the State Government, like the Premier, to say this is what we need in Southwestern Sydney.”

The current proposal lodged with the NSW Department of Planning and Environment seeks to change the current zoning of the land from industrial to “predominantly residential with some commercial and open space areas in order to facilitate development of large-scale high-rise complexes for apartment dwellings and commercial spaces”.

The Moore Point proposed development. Picture: Supplied by NSW Government

The plans originally went to council in 2015 and plans were resubmitted in 2020 by the joint developers, Coronation Property and the Leamac Property Group.

It was then supported by council, who asked for additional studies in relation to site contamination and flooding.

In 2021, following the council’s in-principal endorsement, the proposal was sent to the NSW Department of Planning and Environment seeking a gateway determination.

The planning proposal was returned by the department with “advice that it could not progress until the findings of the council’s regional flood study” inform the proposal.

The flood evacuation study was prepared for the council and the proposal was resubmitted to the department in June 2022. The council is awaiting an update from the department.

Planning Minister Anthony Roberts was asked to respond to Mr Mannoun’s concerns, but had not replied by time of going to print.