Grand Sydney Central Station plans may not be so grand

Sydney’s Central Station precinct was poised to be an economic driver, but the NSW government now plans to ditch the rezoning of a key part of the 24-hectare area that would have allowed for construction of towers of up to 34 storeys on the strategically important site.

An artist’s impression of Central Station precinct redevelopment.Credit: NSW government

The Herald’s Matt O’Sullivan reports the Department of Planning is considering changes to the rezoning proposed several years ago which will result in an eight-hectare area retaining existing zoning that permits only rail-related use.

NSW Planning declined to answer O’Sullivan’s questions, but indicated it would not go on public exhibition before a decision was made. Meanwhile, a NSW government spokesman confirmed a revised masterplan focusing on delivering more housing and addressing “today’s market conditions” had been prepared.

Critics have lambasted the proposed changes, warning they will waste the millions already spent on plans and hamper future governments from pursuing over-station development. Urban Taskforce chief executive Tom Forrest said there was no sensible reason for abandoning the rezoning of a government-owned precinct and that reverting to its historic limited use was akin to throwing “the baby out with the bath water”.

Sydney has heeded the lead of other world cities in turning railway stations into economic drivers. In London, a $1.75 billion revamp of London Bridge station reinvigorated a rundown part of the city while across the Thames, 67 derelict hectares surrounding King’s Cross and St Pancras house 42,000 residents and huge offices as well as shops, restaurants, cafes and bars. The same successful rejuvenation has gone on above the Tolbiac metro stop in Paris’ 13th arrondissement.

The area surrounding Central Station undoubtedly has huge potential. Besides being a waste of scarce space and an urban design failure, the tracks south of Central create an ugly scar that cuts off Haymarket, Ultimo and Chippendale from Surry Hills and parts of Redfern. We have said previously that the existing state of affairs should not be allowed to continue; the southern end of the city’s core is weary, offers few reasons to spend any time there and is an obvious candidate for more density, given the serious supply pressures facing the city.

Under Transport for NSW’s proposal, the heart of Central Station was to receive the same zoning as most of the CBD. In August 2022, the former NSW Coalition government released its vision for a massive reshaping of the Central area that included building high rises, including 850 apartments on a land deck covering the regional and intercity rail lines, parkland and a $350 million renovation of the stately Central terminal building.

But last year, Premier Chris Minns jettisoned the Coalition plans for a “super deck” at Central Station, claiming costings revealed taxpayers would be up for almost $6 billion for the deck, of which only half would be able to be recouped from sale of lots to developers.

Minns has made density reforms around Sydney’s railway stations his signature policy to address the housing crisis, but this glimpse of how Labor intends to deal with the Central Station development is short-sighted and unnecessarily covert.

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