Sydney metro: Parramatta leaders call for Camellia rail station development
Western Sydney business leaders say the state government is making a $1 billion, once in a hundred years mistake by not building a metro station near Parramatta.
NSW
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Western Sydney business leaders are warning the NSW Government is making a $1 billion once in a hundred years mistake by not putting a metro station at Camellia near Parramatta.
A report by the Urban Development Institute of NSW (UDIA) found that developing the old industrial area and putting in a Metro station could pump an extra $1.1 billion into the state economy.
“This situation demonstrates a clear missed opportunity to extend our second city as a mega-hub of Westmead, Parramatta and Camellia,” UDIA chief executive Steve Mann said.
“This is the first step in unlocking the largest brownfield site left in Sydney.”
Hopes for the area, where 26,000 people worked in factories in the 1970s, were quashed by a Greater Sydney Commission recommendation against rezoning it for housing, offices and retail.
But Mr Mann said rezoning the suburb and opening it up with a station on the new Metro West line from Sydney to Westmead could create 11,000 construction jobs. The area could eventually house 22,000 homes and provide work for 5,700 people.
“Keeping an entire suburb locked away for the next generation will see more pressure on housing affordability, more pressure on congestion and a missed opportunity to tap into the talent pool in the West,” he said.
Parramatta Lord Mayor Bob Dwyer said: “Camellia is a key part of the city’s story. Its location on the Parramatta River and near the Parramatta CBD makes it an obvious precinct for jobs, housing and transport – including a new Metro West station.”
Although there are plans for a new light rail stop in Camellia the proposed Metro West line passes straight by without a station.
“It would be a missed opportunity if Camellia was left off the critical Metro West network,” Mr Dwyer said. “If anything we should be accelerating the time frame for Camellia’s transformation and reviewing the plans rather than scrapping them altogether.”
Western Sydney businesses have also thrown their support behind a push to have the Greater Sydney Commission’s recommendation looked at again.
“The Commission said a station would cost too much money without releasing its costings,” Western Sydney Business Chamber executive director David Borger said. “Developers will actually pick up a large part of the bill.
“No one is going to object to high rises and development on this site and Parramatta deserves to have another centre on its eastern side and allow it to grow,” he said.
“This is a 100 year decision for the future of Sydney – we cannot miss the chance.”
Planning Minister Rob Stokes said: “The future of the Camellia-Rosehill area is a decision for Government with the independent advice of the GSC as a consideration.
“Planning strategically for this area will be a boon for Western Sydney and take advantage of the Government’s investment in the Parramatta Light Rail to support jobs and housing.”
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