NSW Government defends axing $9.8 million in funding for commuter carpark in Lindfield village hub project

The NSW Government has defended a decision to pull $9.8m in funding for a long-planned commuter carpark in Sydney’s Liberal heartland – a move residents say has left them ‘shocked’ and ‘devastated’.

A major urban renewal project on Sydney’s north shore has been thrown a curveball after the state government pulled almost $10m of funding from the long-planned development.

Transport for NSW has confirmed it has ‘terminated’ an offer to provide Ku-ring-gai Council with $9.8m of funding that was intended to bankroll 135 new commuter carparking spaces at the council’s Lindfield Village Hub project.

The $85m village hub development, which has been in the planning stages for more than ten years, is primarily funded by the council and involves transforming a swath of land west of Lindfield Station into buildings standing up to nine storeys tall.

The project is part of council plans to meet state government housing targets and is proposed to include 153 units, a new supermarket, and a community facility.

Transport for NSW has blamed its decision to pull funding from the project to Ku-ring-gai Council’s “extensive delays” in the delivery of the project.

A map of the village hub development site.

A spokeswoman for the department said the council had failed to meet agreed deadlines set out in a funding deed signed with Transport for NSW in 2021 when $9.8m was provided to the council for delivery of the carparking spaces.

It is understood the Transport for NSW had received a written request from the council to extend dates of the funding deed by three years to 31 December 2029 before deciding to cancel the funding.

A concept image of the village hub.

“Transport has decided to terminate the deed and will investigate reallocating the funds to other more immediate projects that align with current government priorities,” the department spokeswoman said.

“Transport does not anticipate that the removal of car parks for commuters from the proposed development should put the (remainder of the village hub) project at risk.

“The parking spaces were intended to be prioritised for public transport passengers and included in the park and ride program.”

The cancellation of the funding – which was confirmed by Transport for NSW on Tuesday – has stunned several councillors including Cedric Spencer who said the decision had “come as a shock.”

Ku-ring-gai councillor Cedric Spencer.

Mr Spencer blamed extensive rounds of consultation on the project – which has seen the project undergo several design changes – for the delays but said the project was “still on track”.

He said the council was now having to consider other funding models such as asset sales or potentially entering in an agreement with a developer to fund retail components of the project to help plug the funding shortfall.

Resident group Support Lindfield – which has actively lobbied for the Lindfield Village Hub project – has expressed concerns over the funding cut.

Member Linda McDonald said she was “devastated” by the state government’s decision.

The development has been in planning stages for more than a decade.

“Disappointed doesn’t even come close to it,” she said. “We’ve been frustrated (by the delays) for a number of years and we’ll be working with the council to do whatever we can to get the decision reversed.”

In response to the funding cut, Ku-ring-gai Council has deferred a decision on entering into a project delivery agreement for the village hub which includes setting out the “overarching framework for the design and delivery of all works on the site”.

The council is set to make “urgent representations” to the NSW Government seeking its “commitment” for the commuter carparking spaces.

A council spokeswoman said “there was no indication that the funding would be withdrawn until immediately before the contract with the developer was about to be approved”.

“Transport for NSW failed to follow due process and it has cost the ratepayers and developer millions of dollars to progress the project,” the spokeswoman said.

The council said the commuter parking was also a “key element of the project”.

“Council has called on the state government to reinstate the funding so that the commuter car park, housing, shops, cafes, restaurants, library, community centre, park and plaza can be built for the benefit of the community,” she said.

But councillor Jeff Pettett expressed scepticism about whether the council would be successful in having the funding reinstated.

Mr Pettett also questioned why the NSW Labor Government would “show favour to one council in a Liberal area”, adding that the project was “now on life support”.