Western Sydney airport flight path limbo leaves Luddenham locals furious
Furious locals have demanded all development around Western Sydney’s airport be stopped while they await clarity over the future of their dwindling village, saying they’ve been left in limbo.
NSW
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Furious locals have demanded all development around Western Sydney’s airport be stopped while they await clarity over the future of their dwindling village, saying they’ve been left in limbo.
Villagers in Luddenham, on the western side of the new airport, have waited for a final precinct plan on the future of their tiny community which they fear could die if it isn’t part of development plans for the area, including the new city of Bradfield.
When an interim plan was released last month, locals were told more time was needed to finalise their future, despite the NSW government acknowledging most residents wanted approval for plans allowing 1200 homes to be built in their village.
Now, residents’ frustration has boiled over as they’re stuck in a bureaucratic wrangle between the state and federal governments.
The Luddenham Progress Association wrote to local MPs this week stating: “Bradfield’s future needs to be put on hold immediately until the flight paths are released”.
Association president Wayne Wilmington told The Daily Telegraph residents wanted more homes in their village to ensure their tiny, 200-year-old town won’t die.
“The people in Luddenham want progress — it’s not going to put an extra dollar in our pocket, but we’re doing this so that Luddenham village will survive,” he said. “Without people, Luddenham will die, it’s as simple as that.”
The NSW government said it delayed plans after feedback from the federal government body the Western Sydney Airport Co (WSA), which said a decision should be held back until final flight paths and noise assessments are completed.
It’s left residents stuck in a multi-government bureaucratic nightmare.
The federal government says the NSW government has responsibility for planning decisions, while the state awaits federal approval of flight paths.
The NSW Department of Planning told the Telegraph: “The Commonwealth has yet to finalise flight paths for the airport, and when it does, that will allow us to plan with greater certainty the future of Luddenham.”
Federal MP Paul Fletcher, said “issues relating to planning and development of Luddenham is a matter for the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment”.
He said a preliminary flight path design would be released by mid-2023.
A spokeswoman for WSA said the Luddenham proposal “significantly increases housing just one kilometre from the airport” while Bradfield is twice the distance away.
However, the stall on plans for Luddenham has drawn criticism from both sides of NSW politics, including Mulgoa’s Liberal MP Tanya Davies.
“How is a few hundred new homes going to impact the development of the Bradfield city? My community needs to be supported and given a fair go,” she said.
Shadow Minister Western Sydney Greg Warren said the governments had stumbled at the first hurdle of the massive infrastructure project.
“The rubber’s going to be hitting the tarmac in 2026, they’ve just got to start getting their ducks in a row and doing the right thing and getting on with it,” he said.
“If they can’t even get this right, then goodness help everyone else with the multitude of decisions yet to be made.”
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