Ryde Council rejects Meriton towers development proposal for Macquarie Park

Ryde councillors last night gave a big thumbs-down to a big Meriton towers development proposal for Macquarie Park.

Rejected: The Meriton towers proposal area in Macquarie Park, shaded in red.

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Ryde Council last night rejected a large-scale Meriton towers development proposal for Macquarie Park which would have reaped $78 million in community benefits.

Councillors unanimously voted to oppose the controversial plan, despite late amendments in heights from 63 storeys down to three towers of 42 storeys and one 13-storey building at 112 Talavera Rd.

The extraordinary meeting didn’t start till 9pm and wound up two-and-a-half hours later, when Labor Ryde Mayor Jerome Laxale’s motion to recommend refusal of the project was passed.

Meriton’s revised Macquarie Park proposal which included three 42-storey towers, down from the original plan of 63 storeys at 112 Talavera Road. It was rejected by Ryde Council.

Independent councillor Roy Maggio abstained on grounds that it was a “politically-motivated” motion after earlier talking up the project’s benefits, particularly around the potential upgrade of Christie Park.

Cr Laxale later called on the State Government to also reject the Meriton proposal by December 31, based on the strong community opposition to it.

“Council received more than 400 submissions on this matter, of which the vast majority were against the planning proposal due to a range of concerns including traffic congestion, inadequate supporting infrastructure and loss of local amenity and character,” he said.

“People in Ryde are sick of State Government-enabled overdevelopment in Ryde. Priority precincts, the Medium Density Housing Code (MDHC) and State-Government stacked planning panels are signs that they will continue to target Ryde despite considerable objections by the community.”

Ryde Mayor Jerome Laxale’s motion to recommend refusal of the Meriton towers proposal was passed at night’s extraordinary council meeting.

Urban Taskforce CEO Chris Johnson labelled council’s decision a “sad day for Ryde and Macquarie Park”.

“It was a proposal that made so much sense and ticked all the planning boxes,” the former NSW government architect said.

“And when you take into account the voluntary planning agreement with affordable housing and Section 94 funds to the State Government, the total contribution back to the community was going to be $78 million.

“So that’s now gone after the council rejected it on politically motivated and emotional grounds.

“It could still be overruled (by the state government’s planning panel), but (Ryde Liberal MP) Victor Dominello’s interference means it’s not going to be as objective in the whole assessment process.”

The council’s big thumbs-down to the proposal came a day after the Greater Sydney Commission revealed it would conduct an immediate investigation into all planning matters in Ryde and Macquarie Park.

Meriton’s original plans were for a 63-storey development at Macquarie Park

Mr Johnson said the message that developers get out of last night’s vote was “don’t put in a proposal six months out from an election because it’s got no chance”.

“Developers now have to work their proposals outside of election cycles so they don’t get caught up in this emotional decision-making, which is a crazy situation for a modern city like Sydney,” he said.

Ryde Council’s rejection of Meriton’s plans came after its planning staff had recommended approval, followed by a heated debate among the minority Liberal councillors and the ruling Labor/Greens voting bloc.

Liberal councillor Trenton Brown accused the Mayor of “pulling a stunt of not giving enough notice (with his motion) on the No. 1 hot issue in Ryde”.

“You should be censured for this sort of stunt,” said Cr Brown, who later voted in favour of the motion. “It’s not about politics … this is about long-term community loss. We just don’t want (the Meriton towers development).”

Greens councillor Edwina Clifton pointed out to her fellow councillors that “all we are doing is making a recommendation”.

“We simply don’t have the power to determine it,” she said.

Her Greens colleague Christopher Gordon went much further, accusing the Liberal councillors and Mr Dominello of “misleading the community” about the proposal on political grounds.

Liberal councillor Jordan Lane reaffirmed how he had been campaigning against the Meriton proposal for months alongside Cr Brown and Mr Dominello.

He accused the Labor and Greens councillors of a backflip and showing “inept leadership” after their earlier support for sending it through the gateway planning process for community consultation.