Sydney’s booming rail network could hold key to fixing housing crisis

More than 300,000 new homes should be built within a short walk to Sydney’s booming rail network and reducing dependence on cars, a report says.

Sydney’s 338 train stations could hold the key to solving the city’s housing affordability crisis, according to a landmark report which has won the support of developers, housing groups and politicians.

The Committee for Sydney’s Rethinking Station Precincts report, to be released later this week, highlights how the city’s booming number of train stations – which will stand at 338 when all four Metro lines are completed – can be used to bolster housing supply and reduce dependence on cars.

The report recommends that government and planners commit to 10 points, including setting a goal of 40-45 per cent population growth within walking distance to train stations, the state government pushing through new rezoning allowing more development, and mandating that up to 10 per cent of new homes in the precincts be deemed affordable rental housing.

Former Mascot resident Masha Idis is one of those who has traded in life in the suburbs for a move closer to a station at Green Square.

Portman on the Park, part of the Mirvac development at Green Square.

Committee for Sydney CEO Gabriel Metcalf, who co-authored the research, said their study pinpointed there was room for 327,000 homes to be built in the next two decades within walking distance of train stations in Sydney.

Embracing over-station development and intensifying development around stations was the key to Sydney’s future, Mr Metcalf said.

“The state’s extraordinary investment in rail, built up over almost two centuries, could hold the key to Sydney’s future. The Metro and trains network is one of Sydney’s most important urban assets, growing to 338 stations when the current round of funded projects is complete,” he said.

“With the right settings in place, station precinct development could deliver nearly half the total projected dwellings required in metropolitan Sydney over the next two decades – up to 327,000 dwellings – in highly accessible locations with great amenity.”

The Metro and trains network is one of Sydney’s most important urban assets.

Senior members of developments firms including Mirvac, Lendlease and Cbus Property have welcomed the report.

Ken Maher, the chairman of architecture firm Hassell, said there was “significant opportunities” to make Sydney’s emerging Metro and rail station network the centre of “walkable precincts, supporting public and community life, and delivering high levels of amenity and design quality”.

Tom Mackellar, managing director of Lendlease Development Australia, said over-station and precinct development are “critical” to meeting demand for housing in Sydney.

“The whole of precinct approach is the right outcome. It’s about activating station development opportunities to generate more value that leaves a lasting legacy,” he said.

A spokeswoman for planning Minister Anthony Roberts said the NSW Government “is already considering opportunities for homes around key infrastructure projects like the Sydney Metro”.

“There are a number of projects underway across Greater Sydney to align precincts with infrastructure such as train stations,” he said.

John Engeler, the CEO of Shelter NSW, said addressing housing affordability would make it easier for key workers to live closer to where they work.

“This will be of great benefit to the growing number of key workers on lower incomes who rent but currently have to travel long distances – often out of regular work hours – to their places of employment,” he said.

State Planning Minister Anthony Roberts and Landcom CEO John Brogden at the Mirvac and Landcom, OVO development at Green Square. Picture: John Appleyaerd

Former Mascot resident Masha Idis is one of those who has traded in life in the suburbs for a move closer to a station.

Her family, including her husband and their nine-year-old daughter, purchased a two-bedroom unit at Mirvac’s The Frederick Development – a 23-storey apartment building overlooking Green Square station and heralded as a good example of a developing precinct in the report.

“The amenities appeal to us. The train station is close, so is the library and the aquatic centre, so for a young family it ticked all the boxes,” she told The Telegraph, adding the move closer to the station would enable the family to cut down on the numbers of cars they own.

“If we can get anywhere by hopping on a train … that really appealed. If it’s possible to do away with a car that’d be a saving for our family.”