Units slated for 86 Station St Wentworthville but residents call for better shops, services

A $33m apartment complex with shops and a childcare centre are planned for a suburb set for urban renewal but the community is sceptical more units will improve the place.

Lisa and John Ta of Wenty Takeaway offer solutions to a better shopping centre.

A $33m apartment complex with shops and a childcare centre are planned for a suburb set for an urban renewal but residents are sceptical more units are what Wentworthville needs.

The suburb’s delayed transformation since upzoning plans were announced might be marginally closer with the 59-apartment proposal but the community wants the focus shifted on better shops and services to support an even greater influx of residents.

Under a state significant development proposal, Beaini Projects has proposed a seven-storey and 15-level unit block housing 59 apartments with a 120-place childcare centre, two shops and a basement carpark with 115 spaces.

Eight of the apartments at 86-96 Station St are allocated as affordable dwellings. There will be two one-bedroom units, 32 two-bedroom dwellings and 25 three-bedroom dwellings.

The site is home to the Sri Lakshmi Supermarket and was originally a cinema when the building opened in 1934.

Artist's impressions for units and a 120-place childcare centre at 86-96 Station St Wentworthville.

The former Regent Theatre at Wentworthville will be demolished to make way for scores of units.

That will be demolished if the unit block is approved.

Amit Burnwal, who has lived at Wentworthville for three years, cautiously welcomed more units.

“It’s good because we have the rental crisis and definitely if you put more units you will get rent easily, but we already have a lot of apartments,’’ he said.

“Shops will be good, we don’t have any Coles here. With Woolies, you have it here but it’s the other side of Wentworthville.’’

Amit Burnwal at Station St, Wentworthville.

John and Lisa Ta’s milk bar, Wenty Takeaway, is still running after 26 years but they have seen the decline in trade, especially since Wenty Mall was demolished four years ago.

The loss of the mall with its anchor tenant – the IGA supermarket – eight years ago left customers scrambling for parking and less foot traffic.

“It’s very hard to find parking,’’ Mr Ta said.

“The customers say they’re not going to come back again.

“Before we used to close at 8 o’clock, now we close at 5.30pm.’’

John Ta wants better parking at Wentworthville.

One of his customers, Wentworthville medical receptionist and resident Judith Salvo, echoed his concerns and wants better infrastructure.

“There’s already so many units,’’ Ms Salvo said.

“All they seem to want to do is build new units. They won’t build anything else.

“There really isn’t a lot on offer ... there’s just units upon units and no decent parking.

“There’s no decent grocery store – you have to go all the way to the highway. A supermarket would be good. There’s just more units and no infrastructure.

“They (the council) just seem to have a one-track mind of developing units.’’

Mr Ta said in 2023 he approached Cumberland Council about using the vacant block of land where the mall stood as a temporary carpark.

The site Mr Ta has suggested to be used as a temporary carpark.

He also suggested two on-street parking spaces for drop-off and accessibility but said he was dismissed.

“The council, they don’t listen,’’ he said.

There will be a wait for a carpark at the former mall site until the construction on a mixed use development begins at an undetermined date.

A council spokesman said: “Council’s planning controls for the Wentworthville town centre will provide additional car parking as part of future residential, commercial and retail developments.

“Council encourages residents and visitors to use car spaces available across three public carparks within the Wentworthville town centre located at Dunmore St, The Kingsway and Lane St. Additional parking is also available at the Wentworthville Memorial Swim Centre and Wentworthville Library.’’

Elsa Rios, shops at Wentworthville but doesn't like the shops as much as she used to 20 years ago.

The council has long held plans to upzone Wentworthville with an extra 1800 dwellings in its town centre, along with a shopping centre, a full line supermarket and public domain plazas. That included 500 apartments at the former Wenty Mall site on Dunmore St.

However, it has failed to sell while the public waits for more trade to be injected back into the suburb.

Last year, former Cumberland Mayor Lisa Lake described the dormant Wentworthville site and the former Bonds site at Pendle Hill as “our wicked problem”.

At neighbouring Pendle Hill, the suburb has had similar problems with multiple business closures in recent years, including Woolworths which will shut on March 7.

Constitution Hill’s Elsa Rios preferred shopping at Wentworthville 20 years ago but still reluctantly shops there despite the lack of parking.

She also does not shop at the many South Asian grocery shops that dominate Station and Dunmore streets.

“There’s a lot of things against it – Wentworthville’s not like it used to be,’’ she said.

The state government’s Sydney Central City Planning Panel is assessing the Station St development application.

Ultimately the Planning Minister will make a decision about the proposal.

Originally published as Units slated for 86 Station St Wentworthville but residents call for better shops, services