Fears Landcom’s new proposal for Wentworth Point will compromise Peninsula Park size

Fresh plans for a hulky multi-tower apartment complex in Australia’s densest suburb will compromise the size of its long-promised park in Sydney’s west, critics say.

Wentworth Point has a library but no public park for the apartment-crammed suburb. Picture: Monique Harmer

Critics have hit out at fresh plans for a 406-apartment complex overlooking the river at Wentworth because it will shrink the size of what will be their only park by almost a hectare.

Landcom – the state government-owned property organisation – has filed concept plans for the affordable housing units over six towers up to nine storeys at 9 Burroway Rd, which Transport for NSW owns.

Shops, a public plaza and promenade to Homebush Bay are also slated among the dwellings – of which 15 per cent will be deemed affordable housing.

The mixed use development will be 41,500sq m including 2500sq m of ground floor retail space.

In May the government announced it would open Peninsula Park by mid-2026 but with several conditions: it will be shared with Wentworth Point High School and only open on weekends, and before and after school.

Wentworth Point residents Mark Green and Clement Lun, in 2022, have long campaigned for the creation of Peninsula Park. Picture: John Appleyard

Now Landcom’s state significant development application, lodged with the Planning Department, has stoked more complaints because the park size will be 3.1 hectares not 3.9 hectares.

“We’ve got enough apartments at the moment at Wentworth Point,’’ Cr Paul Noack said.

“What we don’t have enough of is playing fields, what we don’t have enough of is parks and open spaces.’’

Cr Noack – who this week became an independent after he quit the Labor Party when he failed to win preselection for the Rosehill ward for the September elections – urged the government to keep it at 3.9 hectares. He said that should not include the school oval.

“At the moment our kids play on a pop-up park on concrete above a shopping centre carpark,’’ he said. “It’s not good enough.’’

Wentworth Point resident Mark Green recounted various government plans including in 2004 when the Planning Department published the Homebush Bay West development control plan which pitched three one-hectare parks.

“The residents of Wentworth Point have been let down by various state governments,’’ he said.

“Wentworth Point has thousands of young children. It is the highest density suburb in Australia. This land is only vacant because of the broken promises of various governments.’’

A Landcom spokesman said “around four hectares of open space” would be delivered for the community.

That includes “shared open space with the new high school for use outside of school hours, similar to shared use arrangements in place at schools across NSW”.

“The shared space ensures we can deliver substantial open space for both residents and students and makes the most of school spaces that would otherwise be unused out of school hours,” the spokesman said.

Parramatta state Labor MP Donna Davis issued a release a day after the council meeting to say the government was calling for tenders for Peninsula Park.

She said the tender would seek proposals from contractors to deliver about 3.9 hectares of open space, shared pathways, improved sea walls around the peninsula.

“Our community can expect to see a contractor on site by September this year,’’ she said.