Government suspends all new planning proposals in City of Ryde

THE NSW government has said no new apartments can be built in a Sydney suburb because far too many have been built already.

A SYDNEY council area is so full of residential apartments, the State Government has said no more can be built.

NSW Planning Minister Anthony Roberts on Wednesday said new planning proposals would be suspended in the City of Ryde, on the city’s north shore, because infrastructure to service new homes couldn’t keep up.

“We’ve seen a huge increase in the amount of dwellings in parts of Sydney,” Mr Roberts said.

“And what we’re concerned about is where councils — together with the previous government — have zoned large tracts of land for high rise and we haven’t seen the infrastructure meeting the needs." the ABC reported.

Ryde has seen huge amounts of development.

“Not just roads, we’re talking about schools, hospitals, police, fire and ambulance.”

At the centre of the area is the Top Ryde shopping centre. Above it has sprung a forest of skyscrapers. But there are no railway stations close by forcing locals on to crowded buses.

Mr Roberts said an influx of “overseas capital” had seen demand for new homes outstrip the pace of infrastructure.

A new housing code, which enabled lower density residential developments to be given a quick tick off in Ryde as well as Canterbury-Bankstown in the city’s south west, would also be paused.

Meriton's proposed project at Macquarie Park, Ryde.

Both councils were worried the new code could have led to an upsurge in new units across vast swathes of the areas they governed, no matter what services were in place to support the new residents.

Mr Roberts said councils needed “to take a bit of a breath” and to be able to play catch up with infrastructure.

No new planning proposals will be assessed until both councils have reviewed their local infrastructure plans.