Western Sydney Metro Airport: 28 homes to be bulldozed as UDIA criticise undercooked station plan
Blueprints for the Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport line have pinpointed where homes and businesses will be demolished, as The NSW Government has been criticised as undercooking the 23km stretch with just six stations. SEE THE LATEST HERE.
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The NSW Government has been criticised for its lack of forward planning of the Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport Line and its six metro stations along an expansive 23km route stretching from St Marys to the Western Sydney Aerotropolis at Badgerys Creek.
On Wednesday, Transport Minister Andrew Constance revealed the blueprints and exact locations for stations along the multimillion-dollar driverless rail project, expected to start construction this year and employing 14,000 construction workers.
Planning documents also identified where an earmarked 28 properties would be acquired and demolished for the project.
In St Marys the NSW Government will compulsorily acquire 10,000 square metres of the retail and services employment area adjacent to the existing St Marys Station, with planners forecasting reduced access to retail services and employment, “which may impact on shopping convenience and routines”.
Meanwhile, dozens of properties are on the chopping block in Orchard Hills, with the acquisition of properties to the east of Kent Road for a Metro Station, while properties off Patons Lane to the south of Blaxlands Creek would be bought for a massive stabling yard.
In Claremont Meadows, property acquisitions on the corner of Gipps St and The Great Western Highway are also identified in the blueprints.
“There will be six new metro stations at St Marys, Orchard Hills, Luddenham, Airport Business Park, Western Sydney International Airport and the Western Sydney Aerotropolis,” Mr Constance said.
“Trains will arrive up to every five minutes in the peak period in each direction as the initial operating capacity so customers won’t need a timetable – they’ll just turn up and go.”
The St Marys Metro Station will be constructed at the intersection of Station and Queen St, while a services facility would be built at the intersection of the Great Western Highway and Gipps St, Claremont Meadows.
The Orchard Hills Station would be built at Lansdowne Rd, while the Luddenham Rd will be the location of the Luddenham Station precinct.
An Airport Business Park Station will be built off Badgerys Creek Rd, while a Bringelly services facility will be constructed off Derwent Rd.
But the Urban Development Institute of Australian NSW chief executive Steve Mann criticised the plans — calling for at least three more stations at the Western Sydney University and TAFE Werrington Campus, a second station and Orchard Hills and a station to serve an employment hub at Badgerys Creek North.
“This is NSW Government’s Harbour Bridge moment. They need to Think Big and act swiftly to realise the full potential of the Western City, otherwise we will see the inequality between East and West in Sydney continue to grow,” Mr Mann said.
“Public transport must be delivered as the key to shaping great cities and history shows when planning isn’t long-sighted and visionary then it can take generations to right the sins of the past.”
The leader in the development industry argued the government was at risk of growing on “car-dependent, congested Western Sydney city”.
Groundbreaking modelling with data from the University of NSW, Cox Architecture, Charter Keck Cramer, Ethos Urban, Landcom and Urban Pinboard found — if three additional stations were developed along the line — a massive 92,000 jobs and 78,000 dwellings could be created in “transit-oriented-development centres by 2056.”
Under the government’s current modelling, the proposed stage one works would provide 80,539 jobs and 68,957 dwellings – a difference of 12,000 and 9,000 respectively.
“By not delivering expeditiously on the full North South Rail Corridor for Western Sydney a car dependent, low job density ‘suburban sprawl is likely to materialise,” Mr Mann forecast.
the UDIA NSW chief said the NSW Government also needed to preserve corridors and station locations at Lethbridge Park, Marsden Park and Schofields to the north — in order to connect the North West Metro at Tallawong — as well as a further seven stations in the south to Macarthur.
Government plans released this week also found a series of tunnels would be developed along the metro to “minimise the need to acquire properties”, with tunnels earmarked north of the M4 Western Motorway and South of the Western Sydney International.
However, documents confirmed 28 homes and business will see full property acquisitions by the NSW Government, while a further 33 partial property acquisitions and 11 temporary leases are expected.
“Where possible, existing government owned land is being used to avoid the need for private property acquisition,” planners said.