WSU Milperra: Mirvac development to turn campus into 430 homes

Ambitious plans to transform a university campus into an housing estate have been slammed by residents and councillors, who say the site should be retained for educational uses.

Plans by a university campus in Sydney’s southwest to transform into a residential hub has been met with opposition by community leaders and residents, who say the site would be best served as an educational hub.

A proposal to rezone Western Sydney University’s (WSU) Milperra campus to allow a housing development complete with 430 homes, a small town centre and scope for childcare and retail uses is currently before the state government.

The closure of the Milperra campus, set to be developed in partnership with Mirvac, was announced in 2017 due to a relocation to the Bankstown campus.

The transformation of the site from an educational campus to housing estate was approved by the NSW Skills and Tertiary Education Minister Dr Geoff Lee in 2020, under conditions that some of the land was sold to Mount Saint Joseph High School.

Now, residents and councillors have criticised the plans and pointed to the need for education infrastructure in a growing area.

Artist impression for the proposed Mirvac development at the Milperra campus of WSU.

Canterbury-Bankstown mayor Khal Asfour said the development was being forced on council, which did not support the planning proposal.

He said the council was trying to negotiate public benefits and infrastructure in return, including an upgrade of Milperra Reserve and Milperra Community Centre.

Councillor Linda Downey said her frustration was aimed at the NSW Government, which had originally gifted the land to WSU, and had a right to refuse its divestment with Mirvac.

“This is what this state government does,” Ms Downey said. “It sells off public services, public institutions and you never get them back. They’re flogging everything that’s not nailed down.”

At the time, Dr Geoff Lee MP held the portfolio of Skills and Tertiary Education Minister, and gave the final approval for the public land to be divested.

Dr Lee’s LinkedIn page states he worked at WSU from 2007-2014, including four years as Associate Dean Engagement.

Artist impression for the proposed Mirvac development at the Milperra campus of WSU

“Prior to my appointment as Minister, the Milperra site was conditionally approved for divestment by the previous Minister in writing,” Dr Lee told the Express..

“As the new Minister, I followed my agency’s advice and approved the site’s divestment which commenced long before I became Minister. I have always been proud of my time working at WSU more than 12 years ago.”

A spokeswoman from WSU said the proposed community would benefit the area, with 18 per cent of land dedicated to open green space and public parks, as well as including a range of housing types and access to public transport.

“The redevelopment of the Milperra campus is building organisational capacity for the university, and develop new funding streams to invest back into its teaching, learning and research as part of its Western Growth strategy, bringing the highest quality educational opportunities and world-class research expertise to Canterbury Bankstown,” she said.

Milperra resident Paul Judge has made submissions to a NSW Parliamentary inquiry on school infrastructure on why the Milperra campus site should be retained for education.

“We think this constitutes an absolutely unparalleled opportunity to address public education requirements, not only in Milperra but in the surrounding area, the catchment area of the university,” Mr Judge said.

A Change.Org petition started by another community member, Andrew Molloy, has been signed by 2199 people at the time of publication and also called for the WSU Milperra site to be saved for public education.

Mr Molloy says hundreds of homes are already planned for Milperra and other local schools are forecast to be at capacity within two years.

The planning proposal will return to public exhibition before November.