The next Sydney sites in line for more housing revealed

The second stage of the NSW government’s land audit will deliver about 1100 new homes across sites including Woolloomooloo, Arncliffe, Hurstville and Seaforth, as the premier declares the back of the delayed rollout has been broken.

Nearly three months after the first four sites were revealed, Premier Chris Minns and Housing Minister Rose Jackson announced a further 10 sites on Tuesday, saying a “big, big tranche” of social housing would be delivered.

The Clothing Store sub precinct in Eveleigh. Premier Chris Minns has announced the second tranche of his government’s land audit.Credit: Janie Barrett

The government commissioned an audit of unused Crown land in May last year, saying the sites would be developed to help deliver the 377,000 dwellings required under the state’s commitment to the National Housing Accord. The audit unearthed 44 sites.

Of the 10 new sites, an estimated 500 homes would be built in Stockton, a suburb in Newcastle; 393 dwellings would be built on an unused car park in Hurstville, 128 in Sydney Olympic Park and 49 on a vacant lot above the Eastern Distributor in Woolloomooloo.

The Woolloomooloo site had been vacant since the motorway opened in late 1999. Other sites would be delivered in Arncliffe, Seaforth, Minto and Marsfield.

In the budget, the government announced that 30,000 well-located homes would be built by agencies and the private sector on sites identified through the land audit and other previously rezoned sites. The four sites announced in July included converting the Clothing Store sub-precinct at North Eveleigh – within the Carriageworks precinct near Redfern – into 500 dwellings, half earmarked for social and affordable housing.

But 16 months after the survey began, the government has revealed only one-third of the sites. Minns attributed the delay to marshalling agencies to convert the surplus land after the sites were banked or unused for decades.

“It’s not a quick process, but now we’ve broken the back of it, released tranche one, now into tranche two. Ten sites, 1100 apartments or units as a result of this announcement – you can expect more in the weeks ahead,” he said.

Housing Minister Rose Jackson acknowledged the government had taken a “little bit of time” to get the “settings right”. Unable to put a timeline on when construction would begin, she urged councils not to obstruct development applications.

“Our partners in local government have a role to play to make sure that when we’ve done the work identifying the land, when we put the money in the budget to build the housing, they’re working with us to get housing approved so that we can actually start construction,” she said.

Property Minister Steve Kamper was criticised in February after he was unable to provide a date for when houses would be built under the scheme.

Jackson flagged land used during the construction of the metro, which came online in August, would be a “big part” of the 29 sites made available in future tranches.

“We’ve done that big, big first lift now. So you can expect to see more sites in more tranches more often, now that we’ve got those systems in place and the ball is rolling,” she said.

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