Developers withdraw plans for mass rezoning in Appin
Major developers behind failed plans to deliver close to 12,000 homes to sleepy Appin have revealed how a Wollondilly Council decision forced them to pull the pin.
Macarthur
Don't miss out on the headlines from Macarthur. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Macquarie Links man accused of role in car birthing syndicate
- Mass development of rural Appin dramatically halted
Major developers behind the controversial plans to deliver more than 12,000 homes in Appin have revealed how Wollondilly Council played a major role in forcing the eleventh hour withdrawal of plans.
The super-sized plans to rezone 1176ha of relatively untouched land was set to be raised before a panel of planning experts on Thursday.
By Saturday, the trio of developers had officially pulled the pin.
A spokesman for Walker Corporation, who had proposed the rezoning of a 525ha site for 4000 homes, said there had been zero movement on the plans for the past three years. When told the proposal was going before a panel of planning experts, the company officially pulled the pin.
Fellow developer Mir Group also made the decision to withdraw plans to rezone two Appin sites, with the potential to deliver 7500 homes, at the eleventh hour.
General manager Sam Mir said the timing wasn’t right to push forward with the rezoning.
Attempts by the Chronicle to contact a representative of Ingham Property Group, involved in plans to rezone a 368ha Appin Rd site with Mir Group, were unsuccessful.
Wollondilly Mayor Matthew Deeth said the opportunity to end community uncertainty was the reason why the proposed rezoning of 1176ha was suddenly sceduled to go before the Wollondilly Local Planning Panel.
“Council has a long-standing position that these planning proposals are premature and should not be progressed,” he said.
“Growth in the Greater Macarthur area is not supported by council.”
Appin resident Sue Gay said she was “absolutely thrilled” to see the bold plans withdrawn.
“If we are going to have development of the area in the future, we might now have a bit of collaborative planning,” she said.
The Walker Corporation spokesman said “all landowners” in the Appin area remained committed to future development and would work with all stakeholders.
“There is now a regional approach being taken to development in southwest Sydney which allows key stakeholders to work together to deliver infrastructure, employment opportunities, education and community facilities in a unified approach,” he said.
Only a single rezoning proposal for 288 lots on a 39ha site on Brooks Point Rd, owned by Appin Farmers Pty Ltd and Ausland Developments Pty Ltd, is to go before the Wollondilly Local Planning Panel on Thursday.