Planning Minister Paul Scully resurrects ‘zombie’ planning proposals to meet housing targets

Long dead projects could rise from the ashes to solve NSW’s housing crisis, as the state government takes on NIMBY councils unwilling to add more density. Read what it could mean.

Old planning proposals are being brought back from the dead in a bid to tackle Sydney’s housing crisis.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal that the Minns government has directed planning panels to reconsider proposals they have already refused, in a move that threatens to open up a legal fight with local councils.

It comes after Planning Minister Paul Scully wrote to councils urging them to “prioritise the delivery of housing,” to hike the supply of new homes from 48,000 to 75,000 per year.

Mr Scully – who has threatened to go to war with NIMBY councils if they oppose moves for increased density – said that councillors must prioritise building new homes over their own political interests, despite council elections looming next year.

“We all know elections cause people to run to their corners. We just can’t afford for that to happen while we are confronting the housing crisis,” he said.

Planning Minister Paul Scully has asked planning panels to reconsider projects they have already refused. Picture: NCA NewsWire

“I’m asking councils to represent the views of young people, families and others in their local areas by welcoming growth and the housing it produces.”

Mr Scully’s department has asked planning panels to resurrect old proposals that can deliver new housing. Two rezoning proposals have been resurrected so far, but more could follow.

One revived proposal is a bid to rezone part of Lords Road in Leichhardt from a light industrial zone to medium density residential to support hundreds of homes.

Developer Platino Properties first submitted a proposal to rezone the land almost a decade ago, in May 2014.

Render of a potential development at Lords Road, in Leichhardt. Source: supplied

It was rejected, redrafted, and rejected again in 2019.

Inner West Council also knocked back a third proposal, submitted in April last year.

In February, the developer appealed to the department for a “rezoning review”. That was also unsuccessful.

However, after a “review of (the) rezoning review” in August, the Lords Road rezoning proposal finally got the green light.

A proposed rezoning at North Rocks Road, North Rocks – which is being opposed by Parramatta council. Source: supplied.

The proposal will now finally be put on public exhibition after almost 10 years worth of refusals and delays, a process Platino Properties Manager of Urban Planning Paula Mottek said was “baffling”.

When the developer was told the proposal had finally got the green light for public exhibition, Ms Mottek said she was “pleased that maybe some sense was going to be coming into the process”.

A proposed rezoning at North Rocks Road, North Rocks – which is being opposed by Parramatta council. Source: supplied.

Another proposal being reconsidered is a $785 million plan to build more than 1,000 homes in North Rocks, in the Parramatta council area.

Developer EG Funds Management had applied to rezone more than 12 hectares of land on North Rocks Road from low density residential to high density residential.

A proposed rezoning at North Rocks Road, North Rocks – which is being opposed by Parramatta council. Source: supplied.

Parramatta Council rejected the proposal in November last year. The developer appealed the decision the regional planning panel, but was rejected in May.

“The North Rocks proposal aims to deliver much-needed housing supply and community infrastructure – something of dire importance amid the current housing crisis,” an EG spokeswoman said.

Mr Scully is also considering overturning a ban on low-rise apartments. Picture: NCA NewsWire

A review of that review is now underway. However, Parramatta Council said the government has no legal basis to review the earlier decision.

“In November 2022, Council rejected this rezoning proposal because it was incompatible with the surrounding suburb,” a council spokeswoman said.

“In the absence of a new proposal, Council sees no legal mechanism for the NSW Government to reconvene a new Panel to revisit its earlier rejection of the rezoning,” the spokeswoman said.

A Planning department spokesman said: ”all planning panel chairs and Mayors have been asked to prioritise the delivery of housing”.

“These two rezoning reviews have the potential to deliver much-needed housing.

“The relevant panels have been asked to reconsider their earlier decisions in that context.”