This Sydney university wants to build 1000 apartments. Locals are up in arms

A dramatic stoush has broken out between the University of NSW, Randwick Council and a renowned acting school over student housing, with councillors calling the university “greedy” and claiming there is no need for more student accommodation in the area.

UNSW lodged plans last year for 1066 student rooms on its land directly beside the light rail stop on Anzac Parade, opposite the university’s main entrance. They would be managed by student housing company Iglu.

A render of the revised 16-storey student housing development on Anzac Parade proposed by UNSW and Iglu.

It originally proposed five buildings, the tallest of which were to be 23 and 20 storeys, on a hectare-sized block that is now a car park next to the National Institute of Dramatic Art.

Randwick Council oppose the project. In response to feedback from council and a state-run planning panel (which will ultimately decide on the proposal), UNSW reduced the buildings to 16 and 15 storeys, with 881 rooms.

But that did not satisfy the council, which has drafted a counter-proposal to impose a six- to seven-storey height limit on the site and reserve land for a public plaza, courtyard and laneways.

That plan, to be put to the Randwick Local Planning Panel on Tuesday, acknowledges the location has a high level of amenity but contends the lower height limit is “visually appropriate in the Anzac Parade corridor”.

The hectare-sized site, owned by the University of NSW, is currently a car park opposite the university’s main entrance.Credit: Janie Barrett

At an April meeting, councillors also unanimously agreed their “aspiration” is that no commercial student housing is built on the site, even at seven storeys.

Referring to the UNSW proposal, Randwick’s Labor Deputy Mayor Alexandra Luxford said: “This monstrosity of an overdevelopment on such a small site is just appalling, and it’s terrible that the university continues to think they need more accommodation throughout Kensington when no housing for the regular punters is being built.”

Noel D’Souza, an independent, said there was no justification for the “megastructure”. “It’s greed that motivates the university, not need … enough is enough,” he said. Another Labor councillor, Danny Said, said UNSW had “become a bad corporate citizen” and should compromise.

The council heard from Beam Planning director Brendan Hoskins, representing UNSW, who said the university was “deeply disappointed” by Randwick Council. Attempting to down-zone land to spite UNSW’s plans without consulting the university was “inappropriate” and conflicted with the council’s responsibility to unlock and deliver housing, Hoskins said.

A map showing the site relative to UNSW, Anzac Parade and Randwick/Kingsford.

Addressing Hoskins and the university as “you people”, Luxford said she had seen news stories in which students were queuing with non-students for market rentals, which indicated that existing student housing was too expensive.

“Therefore, why are we building more?” Luxford asked. “How many students in the university can you possibly have that fits all these buildings that are being built now? Surely you wouldn’t be able to fit them all into the university if all those units were occupied?”

Hoskins said the now-dissolved Greater Cities Commission identified a lack of student housing in the area. But he could not answer questions about the price of the accommodation. Iglu’s studios elsewhere in Sydney start at $900 a week, or $700 for a room in a shared apartment.

NIDA – whose graduates include Hollywood stars Sarah Snook, Cate Blanchett and Mel Gibson – also opposes the UNSW plan. It wants the heights significantly reduced, the building closest to NIDA scrapped, and setbacks from NIDA’s property of 18 to 24 metres. It is also seeking compensation for any costs or lost revenue it incurs during construction.

The UNSW proposal would include a small public square near the light rail station on Anzac Parade.

NIDA chief executive Liz Hughes said the college was not opposed to appropriate development, “however it can’t be at the expense of NIDA’s ability to operate as Australia’s leading and world renowned drama school”.

She said the project would disrupt and restrict access for students, audiences and deliveries that were critical to NIDA’s operations. According to documents accompanying the revised plan, NIDA also raised concerns during consultation about the “diminished visibility and presence of NIDA” if the development went ahead.

The proposal has also generated outrage from neighbours, with an online petition reaching 1600 signatures. Lauren Sideris of the Kensington Residents’ Group said the revised proposal was still “disproportionately tall” and “has huge overshadowing impact on our neighbourhood”.

The group was also opposed to public land being used for commercial student housing that was unaffordable for most students, she said.

NIDA’s graduates include Succession star Sarah Snook.Credit: Getty

“We are not against development, we’re against the impacts on the community, and the type of development going up is expensive student accommodation and doesn’t provide for the students who need affordable accommodation.”

In a statement, UNSW Sydney said it was seeing higher demand for student housing compared to recent years. It wished to provide “high-quality accommodation options that are convenient to campus and everything the local community has to offer”.

“We are continuing to work closely with our local community to ensure the design is sensitive to local residents and the community,” a university spokesperson said.

The UNSW proposal is on exhibition until Thursday. The state-run planning panel is expected to make a decision in August.

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