85-91 Thomas St Parramatta plans raise residents’ ire
Their suburb is booming with high-rise apartment blocks and office towers but a community in a quieter pocket of “Sydney’s second city” is fighting against a “crazy” nine-storey unit block proposal.
Parramatta is brimming with high-rise apartments and office towers but a neighbourhood in a quieter pocket of the suburb is fighting against a “crazy” 126-unit proposal they fear would be “a disaster in the making”.
NSW Housing Corporation is listed as the applicant for two nine-storey blocks and a three-level basement carpark with 188 parking spaces at 85-91 Thomas St.
Residents fear the plans, under the Housing Delivery Authority, will be a jarring addition to a street still peppered with picket fences, more discreet blocks capped at three storeys and long-time residents such as Saba Chihine who has lived there for more than 50 years.
“I think it’s crazy,’’ Gillian Opoku said.
“We’re on the outskirts of Parramatta anyway. I get how in Parramatta we’ve got 10 storeys but this area is really quiet so if you’re now building nine, 10 storeys you’re taking away the essence of this place.
“It just doesn’t make sense.’’
Ms Opoku, who has lived in the street for six years, said speeding was common and feared the unit development would inflame traffic congestion with its “overpopulation’’.
“Even just to come out of a driveway is a hazard,’’ she said.
Residents also fear Thomas St will buckle under more pressure from an influx of residents the proposal would generate.
Western Sydney University students already use it to attend the campus nearby, while drivers use as a link to James Ruse Drive and must use it to exit Morton St where there are thousands of apartments.
“It’s a looming traffic disaster since so far Parramatta Council hasn’t managed to put in either a speed hump or roundabout for the huge amount of traffic now using Thomas St,’’ Kaye Fraser said.
“This is just a disaster in the making.’’
Residents are waiting for traffic calming measures such as a roundabout on the corner of Morton and Thomas streets to alleviate traffic.
A right-turn ban from Pemberton St to Victoria Rd has also compounded traffic on Thomas St.
Greg McDonald, who lives next door to the proposed development, called the traffic “horrendous” along Thomas St, which he said was sometimes used as a “racetrack”.
The application includes a rezoning to amend the council’s 2023 local environment plan to amend the maximum height of building controls to 30m so nine storeys could be approved.
Planning documents state the site is zoned R4 for high density residential development and therefore won’t be a “significant departure” from what was already anticipated for the site.
“A high degree of amenity is available from the site, and would support high density residential development,’’ it stated.
“For example, the site’s large area enables the inclusion of an extensive range of communal recreational facilities, the site provides views across Parramatta River, the site is in very close proximity to several public open space options, and the site is in close proximity to the Tramway Ave light rail station.’’
However, the closest light rail stop at Tramway Ave is 800m away.
After community consultation in May, the report concluded the planning proposal still warranted support despite privacy, traffic congestion and privacy concerns.
“The site-specific provisions will enable additional market housing as well as affordable housing with high amenity, and without unreasonable impacts to adjoining allotments,’’ it stated.
“It has been demonstrated that the planning proposal has strategic and site-specific merit. The proposed provisions will also contribute to the likely delivery of additional open space that will be of significant public benefit.’’
Under the HDA, developers are permitted to bypass councils by applying through a three-person panel which can give projects the green light.
The Parramatta community has been engaged in a long battle with the Thomas St site.
In 2022, Parramatta Council and its Local Planning Panel rejected a private developer’s proposal for twin, seven-storey buildings with 237 boarding rooms because it was out of character for the area.
Plans for the most recent proposal, which will allocate 16 dwellings to affordable housing, are now on public exhibition and residents must submit feedback by August 25.
Click the link and press “make a submission”.
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Originally published as 85-91 Thomas St Parramatta plans raise residents’ ire
