Sydney Metro: Hills council angered after school left off plans
It may be the future home to tens of thousands of new residents but this new Metro station precinct will go without a new school. Find out why here.
Hills Shire
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A northwest Sydney councillor has criticised the State Government for failing to include plans for a high-rise school near a new Sydney Metro station — expected to be the home of more than 10,000 new dwellings.
Hills Shire Councillor Peter Gangemi hit out at the lack of forward planning by the NSW Government and public planner Landcom for failing to include plans for the school at the Castle Hill Showground Sydney Metro station precinct.
“We are desperate for a school and it will either be this site or a proposal directly across the road,” Cr Gangemi said. “The government aren’t interested in that, they are more focused on making money through yield.”
Cr Gangemi said over 10,000 dwellings would be built in the precinct, meaning a primary school should be a “top priority”.
“The Landcom State Significant development and Ashford Ave proposal should not proceed until the Department of Education has identified a site for a primary school,” he said.
The calls for a new school for the growing region comes as Landcom submitted plans for a total of 1900 homes, as well as 13,000sq m of commercial and retail space, a new park, plaza and roads through the precinct.
In its submission to the development, The Hills Shire Council raised objections to the size and scale of the Landcom proposal, hitting out over a lack of variation in height and “bulky built form”.
“The proposal is seeking to maximise development potential at the expense of providing an
attractive, varied and interesting built form,” council planners said in a submission to the NSW Planning Department.
“The concept currently resembles a high level feasibility proposal rather than a masterplan for higher density urban living providing high quality amenity dwellings and public domain.”
Council argued the Landcom site was “the key remaining area of government-owned land within the precinct … to incorporate a new school”.
A NSW Education spokesman said the increase in population for the area will generate demand for additional public education facilities and “there is potential cumulative demand for additional school sites”.
“School Infrastructure NSW is yet to identify suitable land for future school sites that may be required to meet this demand,” the spokesman said in the submission.
A NSW Planning spokeswoman said Landcom will address issues raised by stakeholders and the community in a report to the Planning Department in April 2020.
“We are continuing to work with the Department of Education to identify appropriate sites for a school in the broader precinct,” she said.