This Sydney suburb is a ‘perfect place to live’. So why do people want to move out?

The inner west suburb of Wentworth Point could have it all. It’s surrounded by water, wetlands and foreshore walks and is conveniently located between the Parramatta and Sydney CBDs, next to Sydney Olympic Park. Communal gardens are well-kept and there are cafes, shops and amenities within strolling distance.

The idyllic setting has attracted hundreds of young families and retired couples to apartment living over the past decade, as the former industrial zone morphed into a dense cluster of unit blocks. For a sunny day in suburban Sydney, the birdsong from nearby sanctuaries and sparkle on the Parramatta River is as good as it gets.

Children play in a car park during the school holidays in Wentworth Point.Credit: Rhett Wyman

But the eight-year-old development still has teething problems. All 15,000 residents live in apartments and there is no open park space for children to play. The primary school exceeded its capacity within three years, and there’s only one childcare service.

There’s also just one road in and out of the suburb, leaving a developer to fill transit gaps by running a shuttle bus all day across a bridge that cannot be accessed by private vehicles. Stage two of the Parramatta light rail, which would connect Wentworth Point with the city’s second CBD, has been indefinitely delayed.

Frustrated residents say it’s a case study for what happens in Sydney when infrastructure does not keep pace with rapid development. And it’s not slowing: several apartment towers are still on their way, meaning the peninsula will become home to thousands more people over the next decade.

The fast-growing high-density community is located in the crucial federal electorate of Reid, which the Liberal party holds on a tight margin of 3.2 per cent coming into next month’s federal election.

NSW Liberal minister Geoff Lee this week warned that the Morrison government’s reluctance to fund stage two of the light rail could jeopardise the Coalition’s hold on the seat; he said it was one of the biggest issues across the area and would probably influence votes.

Labor – which sees Reid as winnable – is seeking to seize upon Wentworth Point residents’ frustration with broken promises and lagging infrastructure to give itself an edge at the ballot box.

Last month it promised to partner with Parramatta Council and commit $8.5 million to upgrade Hill Road – the only thoroughfare leading in and out of the peninsula – which floods when it rains and lacks safe pedestrian crossings. Morning traffic queues are a source of angst, and residents say there are frequent accidents and near-misses.

The Coalition has not matched Labor’s promise, but this week revealed designs for a $100 million upgrade to the nearby notorious Homebush Bay Drive roundabout in partnership with the state government. The funding was first announced in the 2019 election.

Ankita Saxena, who has lived in Wentworth Point for six years with her husband Pratik, and now two-year-old Anna, says the road upgrade would be a selling point. “If they are going to fix it, that will definitely be important in the election. That road matters a lot. Many accidents happen.”

Ankita Saxena loves living in Wentworth Point with her husband Pratik, and now two-year-old Anna, but they plan to leave when their daughter reaches schooling age.Credit: Rhett Wyman

But it will take much more than a few fixes to keep her family in the area. The population has grown, but Saxena says the frequency of public transport has not kept pace and buses fill up quickly.

Developer Billbergia has built the Bennelong Bridge to connect Wentworth Point with Rhodes across the water and now runs a shuttle service ferrying residents across to the train station every fifteen minutes during peak hours, in addition to public buses.

But the bridge, which has a bike and pedestrian pathway, cannot be used by cars. Commuters drive an additional seven kilometres around Olympic Park to reach the same area.

The bridge in and out of Wentworth Point is open to pedestrians, cyclists and buses. Cars must travel on Hill Road.Credit: Rhett Wyman

Then there’s the issue of schools. Wentworth Point Public School opened in 2018 with views of Parramatta River, but it already has too many students for its size; its utilisation rate rose from 50 per cent in 2018 to 117 per cent last year.

The school is built for 400 children but had 557 enrolled by 2021; it makes do with several demountable buildings and has more on the way.

A vacant block next door is set aside for a high school for Wentworth Point and neighbouring suburbs. It wasn’t supposed to be this way: the state government initially scoped land in Olympic Park for the senior school, which will include that high-growth area as well as Concord West in its catchment.

But now the Olympic Park High School has been relocated to Wentworth Point, where residents had hoped the land would be used for a rare patch of parkland.

Instead, the six-storey high school will accommodate 1500 students from across the area at the edge of the peninsula. Locals worry the students will add to Hill Road’s traffic problem; the education department predicts they will walk, cycle or use buses. The department also says the school’s play space will be available to the public outside school hours.

Meanwhile, Wentworth Point’s children have spent school holidays playing soccer or riding scooters in unused car parks and drawing with chalk on the asphalt.

“It’s a perfect place to live if you’re a small family or couple. It’s a very resort lifestyle, very lively, you can walk around any time with no security issues,” Sexana says.

“But we will have to plan to leave this area once [Anna] starts schooling. That will be the only reason we leave. The area is really good, so we can compromise now. But definitely, once she’s six or seven years old, you can’t compromise [on school and transport].”

About half of Wentworth Point’s population are families, according to 2016 census data, and many are of Chinese, Korean and Indian heritage. Domain data shows the median apartment price ranges from $575,000 for a one-bedroom unit to just over $1 million for a three-bedroom unit.

A family near the local ferry wharf.Credit: Rhett Wyman

Several residents have formed an action group to agitate for better infrastructure.

“It’s the changing face of Sydney. Nobody lives in a house here, everyone is in a unit,” says group convenor Mark Green, who bought off the plan in 2017 to retire with his partner.

“Most people from our experience love the area because of its closeness to Homebush Bay and Olympic Park. The original activation precinct and the agreement in 2014 had all the schools, roads, transport, all the rest of it. But the fact the infrastructure promised hasn’t been delivered is a major issue.

“Students bus to Concord High, which is bursting at the seams. There’s potential for a beautiful park [on the peninsula], the land is still there but the state government changed its mind [and moved the high school to that site in Wentworth Point].

“It’s a beautiful spot. That’s what has kept people holding on, in the hope the infrastructure will come. But I think now the frustration is boiling over.”

Wentworth Point’s polling booths trend towards the Liberal Party, although last election Liberal MP Fiona Martin suffered a 3.74 per cent swing against her.

This year, first-time Labor candidate Sally Sitou is operating a grassroots campaign in Reid that has focused heavily on Wentworth Point and its lacking infrastructure.

Mother of two Juliana Lee says she really wants crossings on Hill Road, as Labor has promised, but does not think it is enough to win her vote.

Despite all its issues, she says Wentworth Point is still “the best place to live”.

Juliana Lee’s son Ashton, 7, plays in a car park in Wentworth Point with his cousin.Credit: Rhett Wyman

“You can go for a long walk, [it’s] dog friendly. We walk across the bridge, it’s great for small families,” she says.

Her son Ashton, 7, started kindergarten at the local school in 2020 but now goes to school in Concord while her youngest, 2, attends daycare in Olympic Park.

Lee’s 45-minute drive around the area to drop them off starts at 8am each morning to beat the traffic, but she’s used to it now.

“Honestly, I don’t think it will be fixed. It will get worse over time with the high school and apartments. Hopefully we’ll move out by then,” she says.

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