Push to remove Berala from NSW government’s transport-oriented development policy

Calls for a Sydney suburb to be scrapped from a high-density housing plan have failed, with a councillor reminding his peers ‘the state government is pushing through whether we like it or not’.

Opponents say Berala is inappropriate for the NSW government’s TOD plans.

A pitch to remove Berala on a list of suburbs to be upsized in the state government’s transport-oriented development plan (TOD) has been lost.

The defeat of the motion at Cumberland Council’s meeting on Wednesday comes six months after the government listed the suburb as one of 31 to have higher density buildings within 400m of train stations.

Our Local Community councillor Helen Hughes’s motion requested Auburn state Labor MP Lynda Voltz to remove Berala from the TOD after she deemed it unsuitable because the suburb had poor public transport.

“It is going to be so impacted it is unbelievable,’’ she said.

“At the moment there is illegal parking happening, there are problems with traffic happening, it’s already happening now.

“Percentage wise, it would have more than three times its number of its population based on the Census information.’’

She said Warrawee on the north shore would be better placed for the TOD but “typically’’ the government would “just dump, dump, dump on western Sydney all the time’’.

Eddy Sarkis backs a bigger Berala.

Labor’s Kun Huang also wanted to scrap Berala from the plan because he said the government failed to consult residents properly.

He said residents who lived outside the 400m radius told him “their lives would be worse off” with more traffic and no additional investment from the government.

But independent councillor Eddy Sarkis said the government was pushing through regardless of the council’s stance and would not provide infrastructure unless housing was built first.

“You’ve got to put the cart before the horse because if you don’t you will never get the horse – that’s the harsh reality,’’ he said.

“If we don’t have these increased densities we’re not going to get more schools, we’re not going to get more train stops.

“We’re not going to get an uplift to the train station, we’re not going to get better shopping centres there.

“At the end of the day the state government is pushing through with this whether we like it or not.’’

Councillors Sarkis, Michael Zaiter, Sarkis, Sabrin Farooqui, Glenn Elmore, Mohamad Hussein, Suman Saha, Ola Hamed and Lisa Lake supported Berala’s inclusion in the TOD.

Councillors who objected to the TOD were Hughes, Paul Garrard, Steve Christou, Greg Cummings, Joseph Rahme and Kun Huang.

Earlier

The Liberals say they will abolish a push for higher density housing around train stations but Berala residents supporting upzoning have finally spoken out amid a barrage of opposition.

Cumberland Council has lobbied against Berala and Lidcombe’s upzoning inclusion in the transport-oriented development program, or TOD, which would allow six-storey developments within 400 metres of 31 train stations.

Anti-development Our Local Community councillor Helen Hughes said Berala had poor public transport and she held “grave” concerns about it being included in the scheme.

“It is absolutely unrealistic to expect a 400m radius to be satisfactory for the community,’’ she said at a May meeting.

“An upgrade of the existing area zoned for high-rise would be the only acceptable upgrade – nothing more.

“This (TOD) is going to kill that suburb big time.’

But residents who favour a bigger Berala have now made their voice heard.

Woodburn Rd shops at Berala could be surrounded by six-storey unit blocks under the state government’s transport-oriented scheme.

Teacher Brandon Chan said the only big developments in Berala since 2003 were the Woolworths, the Lingyen Mountain Temple and “the really fancy toilet block.’’

He told the council at its June 5 meeting he wanted Berala to mirror the development boom at Merrylands.

“I drove past a building that was 30 storeys. I wish that was going into Berala,’’ he said.

“Hopefully we can go ahead and develop Berala like Merrylands, and even Westmead. To be honest it looks absolutely amazing around here.’’

Ken To told the council he was one of the “overwhelming” contingent of the community that supported denser housing.

He cited an online survey that stated 72.7 per cent of the public wanted the TOD.

“I understand there’s vocal protests against this but there’s actually more people online, and are silent, and want to support this,’’ he said.

Cr Hughes said residents told her they would be forced to sell properties and some of the multicultural community did not understand what was happening.

“It is so distressing and they have been in tears at the thought of what this is,’’ she said.

“So I have to tell them ‘no, that is not the case’ but that is what they have been informed.”

A councillor has raised concerns Berala’s multicultural community has not been not properly informed about housing changes.

On June 5, the council was supposed to vote whether it would request Auburn state Labor MP Lynda Voltz to remove Berala from the TOD.

Cr Hughes’ motion also called for more public information sessions to be held.

However, the debate among councillors got so heated, Mayor Lisa Lake adjourned the remainder of the meeting to June 19.

“I have to say tonight we have had a low bar – a very low bar,’’ she said.

The debate followed Opposition planning spokesman Scott Farlow this month flagging his intention to abolish the TOD, which would create 138,000 homes over 15 years.

However, advocacy group Housing Now! expressed disappointment at the intention to overturn the plans, which it said would create more housing close to jobs, transport and amenities.

Chairman David Borger said the organisation was “dismayed by the Opposition’s shortsighted decision to overturn a policy that would deliver more housing around key transport nodes in Greater Sydney, Wollongong and Newcastle”.

“We urge political leaders to put the interests of the community ahead of political point scoring,’’ he said.

Originally published as Push to remove Berala from NSW government’s transport-oriented development policy