Critical rezoning plans for Sydney’s Central Station on chopping block

The NSW government is quietly moving to rip up a crucial part of Sydney’s Central Station precinct rezoning, which critics argue will waste tens of millions of dollars spent on plans and force a future authority back to the drawing board if a major redevelopment is considered again.

Under Transport for NSW’s proposal several years ago, about eight hectares at the heart of Central Station was to receive the same zoning as most of the CBD.

Referred to as “SP5”, the zoning would have allowed for towers as high as 34 storeys to be built – subject to future development applications – as part of an over-station development on the strategically important site.

However, the Department of Planning is now considering a major revision that will result in the eight-hectare area retaining its existing zoning, which permits only rail-related use, according to sources close to the project who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

It will remove the ability to develop about 365,000 square metres of floor space, which is the equivalent of almost four-fifths of the total for the Central Station precinct under the original proposal by Transport for NSW in 2022. In comparison, the Barangaroo redevelopment – one of Sydney’s largest urban renewal projects – comprises about 600,000 squares metres of floor space.

Plans to build a superdeck over rail lines terminating at Central were scrapped by the Minns government last year.Credit: NSW government

Last year, the Minns government jettisoned its predecessor’s long-term plans for a multibillion-dollar “super deck” at Central Station. It involved building a giant deck above the regional and intercity rail lines that terminate at Central, and the construction of more than a dozen buildings including 850 apartments.

Critics argue the latest plans to significantly alter the proposed rezoning would be a further setback if a future government decides to push ahead with an over-station development in coming decades.

Urban Taskforce chief executive Tom Forrest said there was no sensible reason for abandoning the rezoning of a key part of the government-owned precinct.

While the feasibility of the super-deck development might not stack up at present, Forrest said it should not mean “that you throw the baby out with the bathwater and revert the zoning back to its historic limited use”.

“It would be like when cost constraints were threatening the viability of the Sydney Opera House … [and] rezoning it back to being a tram shed,” said Forrest, who is a former NSW Labor chief of staff.

“In good faith, both the private sector and government have spent tens of millions of dollars on developing options to make the SP5 zoning work. Unfortunately, at this point, government has decided not to progress that. But why rule out any future options being considered?”

Critics argue the revised rezoning plans will be a major setback to any future development of the Central Station precinct.Credit: Steven Siewert

Opposition planning spokesman Scott Farlow said the government appeared to be shutting the door on any significant renewal for the area.

“This is another act of a government that lacks ambition for NSW’s future,” he said. “The central Sydney precinct is an opportunity for our city to create a world-class tech and innovation precinct while providing open space and desperately needed homes.”

The Department of Planning declined to answer questions about what the rationale was for changes to the proposed rezoning, and indicated that they would not be put on public exhibition before a decision on approving them was made. “[The department] will continue its merit-based assessment of the proposal and will communicate further once a final determination is made,” it said in a one-sentence statement.

A NSW government spokesperson said a revised masterplan, focusing on the state’s priority to deliver more housing and address “today’s market conditions”, had been prepared and its associated revised rezoning application was under consideration by the Planning Department.

The 24-hectare precinct effectively consists of two parcels: the so-called western gateway under development which will include the 40-storey Atlassian office tower, and the remainder which extends from the Goulburn Street carpark in the north to Cleveland Street in the south.

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