Rob Stokes’ last-ditch call for new Pyrmont vision

Gladys Berejiklian and her Planning Minister Rob Stokes have been labelled cowards over a decision to knock back the $500 million Ritz-Carlton luxury hotel in Pyrmont.

• Jones slams Gladys over Ritz
• Ritz-Carlton hotel won’t be supported
• Planning Dept approved Barangaroo casino but not Ritz-Carlton

Political commentator Graham Richardson has labelled NSW Premier Gladys Berijikilian and Planning Minister Rob Stokes cowards following a decision to block plans for a $500 million Ritz-Carlton luxury hotel in Pyrmont.

Speaking on Sky News’ Richo & Jones show, Mr Richardson and broadcaster Alan Jones unleashed on the government over the refusal to move ahead with The Star’s proposal.

“Political cowardice. That’s what this is. This is cowardice on a grand scale,” Mr Richardson said.

“You’ve got to have the guts to actually give things a tick. It’s easier to say no. That’s the easiest word in the political dictionary - no. But you’ve got to say yes to things if you want places to develop and grow. It’s so obvious it’s a good proposal.”

Mr Jones said the knocking back the Ritz-Carlton plans made no sense.

Graham Richardson and Alan Jones have taken aim at the government over the Ritz-Carlton fiasco.

“Queensland are eating NSW alive when it comes to growing infrastructure,” Mr Jones said.

“Young people want an exciting new city in which they can live and they want exciting new projects. Do we live in the past Gladys? Or do we live in the future?”

Mr Stokes has come under more fire following a last-ditch call to a think-tank yesterday to “quickly” come up with a new vision for Pyrmont, just weeks after his department canned the hotel set for the area.

The Committee for Sydney — an independent think-tank — confirmed to The Daily Telegraph that Mr Stokes phoned the group on Wednesday asking for advice on the future of the contentious area.

Mr Stokes was the minister in charge of the NSW Department of Planning when Crown’s Barangaroo casino was approved.

Planning Minister Rob Stokes. Picture: Chris Pavlich

Committee for Sydney CEO Gabriel Metcalf said they were running a group called the Western Harbour Alliance, which was providing “vision” for how the tourism hotspots from Barangaroo to the Sydney Fish Markets “could become more vibrant”.

“The Minister asked if we would basically give our thoughts on what should happen in terms of a strategic direction for the district, but we are not able to move quickly enough,” Mr Metcalf told The Daily Telegraph.

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“We try to be as helpful as we can but we have our own priorities.”

Urban Taskforce chief executive Chris Johnson believes the new “vision” for the area might be low-rise buildings — which would torpedo The Star’s 61-storey Ritz-Carlton proposal.

“My guess is their vision will be a low-rise vision, not a high-rise vision,” he said. “It seems to me if Rob is trying to get the Committee for Sydney involved, he’s probably looking for some much more plain and comfortable solution.”

The proposed Ritz-Carlton plan at The Star.

Rob Stokes declined to approve the Ritz-Carlton despite the tourism and accommodation industry saying Sydney needs more hotels.

Mr Johnson said when Mr Stokes was previously planning minister, he was a fan of Barcelona and Paris-style developments that were eight storeys or less — not Shanghai-style skyscrapers. “My feeling is that’s what he wants to follow up, and I’d say that’s economically naive,” Mr Johnson said.

A spokeswoman for Mr Stokes would not comment on whether they were due to announce a new masterplan for the area on Thursday.

“The Western Harbour Alliance, which includes The Star and other key stakeholders within the precinct, has been actively involved in planning for the future of Pyrmont since 2014,” she said.

“With major projects, including the Sydney Fish Market, Sydney West Metro and Bays Precinct all underway, it’s vital we take a comprehensive approach to planning for the entire precinct.”

The planned Ritz-Carlton.

Mr Metcalf said they knocked back the last-minute request from Mr Stokes because “we don’t have the bandwidth” to satisfy the request and there isn’t even the next meeting of the Western Harbour Alliance scheduled.

Mr Metcalf also said the Committee for Sydney did not want to get dragged into any “debates”.

The Daily Telegraph can also reveal the NSW government met with representatives from The Star, the Greater Sydney Commission and the Department of Planning to discuss whether planning frameworks for the Western Harbour area needed to be tweaked.

The future of The Ritz-Carlton’s approval lies with the Independent Planning Commission, which will host a public meeting between interested stakeholders at Customs House on August 27.

The IPC is also expected to hold meetings next week with the Department of Planning, The Star and the City of Sydney to discuss the Ritz-Carlton development application.