By Megan Gorrey
The City of Parramatta has criticised the NSW government’s divisive plans to develop thousands of apartments in a heritage precinct north of its fast-growing central business district, arguing the need to boost housing supply must not come at the expense of new employment space.
In January, the Minns government released an indicative masterplan to rezone 42 hectares of land known as Parramatta North, a site earmarked to take advantage of the new light-rail line and a future 25,000-student university campus linked to the Westmead health and innovation district.
An artist’s impression of the proposed Parramatta North rezoning, with Parramatta’s CBD in the background.Credit: NSW government
In a submission on the proposal, the council expressed broad support for the plans to deliver 2500 homes, 12,000 jobs and 21 hectares of open space around 30 heritage buildings. But it raised concerns about infrastructure, heritage protection and preserving areas for jobs and education.
“Council firmly seeks to ensure that the housing crisis of today does not become the jobs crisis of tomorrow,” the draft submission said.
Lands and Property Minister Steve Kamper lashed council staff reticence to fully back the proposal – which he said was “only positive for Parramatta” – in a budget estimates hearing on Wednesday.
“There’s a large amount of derelict land just sitting there doing nothing, and it’s time to move forward and get this thing done. I think this is a perfect example of where we can get the balance right,” he said.
Plans to redevelop Parramatta North, beside the Parramatta River, have been a bone of contention among residents and authorities for years, underscoring tensions in suburbs across Sydney as governments attempt to balance increasing density and heritage.
The draft proposal separates the site into different zones or uses, with provision for taller buildings up to 24 storeys around the light-rail stops and health precinct, as well as residential blocks to the north.
The council said it was exceeding housing targets set by the state government and called for a planning mechanism to ensure some commercial land was “unequivocally protected” from being turned into dwellings, particularly noting the government’s priority to deliver additional housing.
“Although residential development is considered necessary to help activate Parramatta North, residential development should not come at the expense of commercial/educational floor area,” it said.
The plans would cluster apartments around the stops on the new light-rail line. Credit: NSW government
The council said it wanted a balanced approach to development to create “an employment-generating, heritage significant and culturally vibrant destination for the broader Sydney community”.
In the budget estimates hearing on Wednesday, Kamper said the push from council staff to ensure the provision of homes didn’t come at the cost of employment space was “silly” and “really crazy”.
“There’s 20 per cent vacancy rates in office space in Parramatta. I think the council would be best served focusing on some sort of strategic planning to sort that out,” he said.
“We’re going to create jobs and homes here and finish an unfinished part of Parramatta.”
Heritage advocates are worried the plans will jeopardise a push from state and federal governments to get the Parramatta Female Factory added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.Credit: Kate Geraghty
Property and Development NSW deputy secretary Leon Walker said the site was broadly zoned for mixed-use development because it was intended to be delivered over the next 20 to 30 years.
“It’s important we have some flexibility in there. It’s a very significant precinct connecting the Parramatta CBD and the Westmead health and innovation precinct,” he told the hearing.
The council noted the population surge would heap pressure on existing infrastructure, including roads and transport, and create demand for new facilities such as schools: “Sufficient provision of supporting infrastructure, including affordable housing, is crucial to the project’s success.”
Its draft submission also recommended removing some proposed development sites to “create a legible central heritage setting that is free from new buildings and that will improve the visual connection between Parramatta Park, Parramatta River, the Female Factory and Parramatta Gaol”.
The planning or rezoning proposal abuts but does not include the Parramatta Female Factory precinct, built in 1818, where thousands of convict women were held on arrival in the NSW colony.
Parramatta’s federal Labor MP Andrew Charlton has been urging the government to “press pause” on the plan until a potential World Heritage Listing for the Female Factory is finalised in 2029.
Opposition planning spokesman Scott Farlow noted during budget estimates that Kamper was on a “collision course with the Albanese government” over plans to redevelop the adjacent precinct.
Kamper said he was “disappointed” by Charlton’s opposition to the proposal, saying it had “been on pause for a long time”.
“It’s not time to pause on this, it’s time to press the accelerator,” he said.
“We’re consulting the community, and I think they’re quite positive about it. The [building] setbacks we’ve created, the height reductions, should not impact at all on the World Heritage listing.”
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