The Minns government has seized control of planning at 11 key sites around Sydney and NSW, promising to deliver new homes faster by expanding a controversial program introduced by the Coalition just before the election.
The new policy allows the government to take over rezoning proposals already in the planning system if it deems them “unreasonably delayed” or of state or regional significance. Under the previous policy, only fresh proposals could be considered.
Among the 11 sites are the Parramatta Road corridor in the inner west, which was supposed to be rezoned years ago, and Kurnell Peninsula, where a family company wants to build a new suburb of 4300 homes on its massive landholding.
The renamed State-Significant Rezoning Policy was quietly published online late last month. It replaces the Rezoning Pathways Program adopted by the Liberals in December 2022, which was welcomed by developers but condemned as “secretive” by some councils.
On the Kurnell Peninsula, the Holt family company Besmaw has for decades sought to build a suburb on a 210-hectare former sand mine it has owned since 1861. In February, it lodged a new proposal with Sutherland Shire Council, described as “the culmination of six years of extensive engagement with government stakeholders”.
The plans include 4333 new homes – 2743 of them in high-rise apartments – 10,000 square metres of shops, 142 hectares of public open space, and widening Captain Cook Drive to four lanes (the site is far from Cronulla train station). The suburb would be named Bidhiinja Beach.
An artist’s impression of a new suburb on the Kurnell Peninsula that could be approved under the new policy.
Sutherland Shire Council said the government had “called in” the proposal due to its complexity, and the council would retain an advisory and advocacy role. Former Liberal mayor Carmelo Pesce, who was re-elected last month as an independent, said the proposal would have a massive impact and it was vital the state government consulted the community.
The new policy says the assessment process will involve consultation and engagement with the relevant council and agencies, while legislation requires the department to exhibit the proposed rezoning for public comment.
Also on the list is stage 1 of the “Parramatta Road corridor” project in the inner west, referring to three separate sections of the highway slated for renewal under a 2016 state government strategy. The government will take control after claiming Inner West Council “has not yet considered the results of the public exhibition”.
It was Transport for NSW which in 2024 raised concerns about the rezoning because of long-term draft plans to widen Parramatta Road for rapid transit. But Roads Minister John Graham quickly scotched those plans when the Herald revealed them in May, and the council lodged its rezoning proposal for approval later that month.
The state government will again take over planning controls for sections of Parramatta Road after asserting they had been “unreasonably delayed”.Credit: Jessica Hromas
Labor mayor Darcy Byrne said on Tuesday the government should just get on with making it law. “The constant delays and competing objections from various state agencies, as has happened in Parramatta Road, is one of the central causes of the housing supply crisis,” he said.
Byrne said the council would consider supporting a statutory Parramatta Road authority “to cut through red tape and force state agencies to get on with the job of delivering desperately needed new housing”.
In Coffs Harbour, the state government will take control of 62 hectares of waterfront land where it has battled to develop a new tourism precinct, including 250 homes and 200 short-stay units.
In April, the Herald reported the plan was causing uproar, with the then-mayor saying it would “destroy the place”, and the community divided between young and old. It was a major issue at September’s council election; the City of Coffs Harbour conducted a poll asking voters if they supported “multi-level private residential development” on the land – 69 per cent voted “No”.
And in Marsden Park North, the government will lead an industrial and recreational rezoning of 1227 hectares of land slated for housing in 2018 but abandoned last year due to flooding risk.
The new policy will also apply to Fitzwilliam Street in Parramatta, the Blackwattle Bay precinct, Riverstone Town Centre and West Schofields. More locations will be added twice a year, in March and September.
The Planning Department said the new policy would save up to 200 working days on assessments that would otherwise go through long council processes. “Projects assessed under these pathways undergo a robust, independent and thorough assessment process,” it pledged.
Department officials will monitor proposals in the planning system to identify those which have been “unnecessarily delayed”. An internal evaluation panel will pick which proposals to take over, based on whether they can deliver “significant and meaningful public benefits”, such as achieving the government’s five-year housing targets or providing a post-2029 pipeline of rezoned land.
The Urban Taskforce developer lobby welcomed the new policy and claimed credit for it, saying: “Rezoning delays have been a massive problem for years and this reflects a fresh approach.”
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