By Jacob Saulwick and Leesha McKenny
Another 36,000 apartments would be built near train stations on Sydney's Bankstown rail line in the next 20 years, as the Baird government signals its intent to encourage development along another inner west corridor.
The development of new unit blocks near 11 stations including Marrickville, Canterbury, Campsie, Belmore and Bankstown would coincide with the conversion of the train line to a "metro" system linking to a new rail line through the city.
Artist's impression of Bankstown, post-development.Credit: Department of Planning and Environment
But plans released on Wednesday also include the provision of some new road upgrades, small parks and cycling routes that include the long talked-about inner west "greenway" from the Cooks River to the southern edge of the city.
"The enhanced public transport network is the catalyst for new growth and development along the corridor," Planning Minister Rob Stokes said.
Carrington Road, Marrickville, according to NSW Planning.Credit: Department of Planning and Environment
The largest increase in dwellings would occur near Bankstown, Punchbowl, Campsie, Belmore and Canterbury stations, according to the plan, dubbed the Sydenham to Bankstown urban renewal corridor strategy.
But the plan released on Wednesday does not include high-rise development near all the stations, for instance indicating an intent at Marrickville station to retain existing shopping strips. At others, high-rise development closer to the station would blend back into low-rise suburbia further from the rail line.
The Baird government has said it wants to start on a new metro line from Chatswood through the city to Sydenham by 2017. This line would connect to the existing Bankstown Line, running trains every four minutes.
The whole project is intended to be open by 2024, though converting the Bankstown Line to be able to operate the single-deck driverless "metro" trains would also require the closure of the existing line for upgrades, potentially for up to a year.
Campsie in the near future, according to NSW Planning.Credit: Department of Planning and Environment
Implementing the housing plans would require the support of Marrickville, Canterbury and Bankstown councils.
Marrickville Council was immediately sceptical about aspects of the plan. A spokeswoman said the council supported increasing densities around stations, but "a lighter touch that allows new forms of dense housing that can work with the established pattern of streets and the grain of the subdivision is essential".
According to the plans, the majority of the new development near Marrickville Station, would occur on an industrial strip on Carrington Road, towards Tempe station.
There are also proposals for a bike path running along the length of the rail corridor. And the plan revives the idea of a "greenway" bike path along the light rail route through Dulwich Hill and Lewisham. Former transport minister Gladys Berejiklian cut funding for the greenway and the path was mothballed in her 2013 cycling strategy.
Mr Stokes is separately consulting on a development strategy for Parramatta Road, which anticipates another 40,000 new properties in the next 30 years. The Sydenham to Bankstown strategy predicts an increase in dwellings near train stations from 45,000 to 81,000 by 2036.
The general manager of Canterbury Council, Jim Montague, said the council was reviewing the concepts but urban renewal near train stations along the corridor could provide greater housing choice for individuals, couples and families.
Tim Williams, the chief executive of advocacy group Committee for Sydney, said the plan "at last" represented "a serious attempt to integrate land use and transport planning".
"Essentially this is a strategy for transit-oriented development which will leverage higher density development near Sydney's new metro stations - exactly where we should be targeting development," Dr Williams said.
Chris Johnson, chief executive of the developer group Urban Taskforce, said he thought the plan was good but could have been clearer about some of the development heights proposed for suburbs such as Bankstown and Campsie.
"You would need to get up about 20 stories to be economic," Mr Johnson said. "Communities should be getting used to heights of that order around railway stations."
The Sydenham to Bankstown strategy will be on public exhibition until November 22.