‘It’s not NIMBYism’: Phantom light rail station site of latest housing war

On the western edge of Leichhardt, in the midst of industrial Parramatta Road, Taverners Hill light rail station is close to being a white elephant. With just 4960 Opal trips last month – 165 a day – it was the second least-patronised station on the network, after nearby Waratah Mills.

By now, the station was supposed to service a renewed urban precinct with more than 450 units – part of a bigger transformation of the Parramatta Road corridor between Annandale and Croydon signed off by the state government in 2016.

The under-utilised Taverners Hill light rail station was supposed to service a renewed residential precinct.Credit: Wolter Peeters

But a group of residents is now mounting a last-ditch campaign to stop a rezoning which has the capacity to deliver 1500 units across three inner west precincts and begin rejuvenating one of Sydney’s most hated and run-down roads.

At Saturday’s Voice referendum, they distributed a flyer outside polling places titled, “The plan to destroy our neighbourhood”, which claimed 60 homes in the Taverners Hill precinct would be demolished in coming years to make way for higher density.

Objections also centre on the loss of a dense patch of trees that residents are calling “the lungs of Leichhardt”. They fear it would remove the habitat of native animals and migratory birds along the inner west GreenWay, and say development should be confined to Parramatta Road.

Four Leichhardt residents spoke against the plan at last week’s council meeting, including Sharon Carey, 65, who has lived in the precinct for 30 years.

Adjacent to the precinct is a Lords Road warehouse which is also the subject of a long-running redevelopment dispute.Credit: Wolter Peeters

“What I am stating is not NIMBYism,” she said. “I actually want a backyard, not a balcony. I want to see trees, flowers, birds, brush turkeys, possums. I want to be able to look out my doors and windows and look at the sky, not a wall of units. I want sun to light my house, not unnatural light.”

Carey and other speakers also argued it was “near impossible” to get on the light rail at peak hour; however, patronage on the L1 Dulwich Hill line is still below pre-COVID levels.

A flyer handed out at polling booths at the weekend during the Indigenous Voice to parliament referendum.

Local Greens activist Hall Greenland, who lives in the affected area, was among those spotted handing out flyers at the weekend. He did not return calls on Tuesday. Balmain Greens MP Kobi Shetty said she was not involved in the campaign, but it was important the community's views were heard.

Inner West mayor Darcy Byrne, of Labor, said the leaflet was misleading. “It’s simply not true to suggest that anyone’s property could be compulsorily acquired. A property owner would have to choose to sell,” he said.

Byrne also said it was inappropriate to distribute such material at polling booths for a referendum on one of the great moral challenges of our time.

The state government’s Parramatta Road Corridor Urban Transformation Strategy was finalised in 2016 and was supposed to be “implemented” by 2023. But the council did not submit its planning proposal to give effect to that vision until May 2022. Due to quirks of the planning system, it is only now going on public exhibition with the state government’s support.

As well as Taverners Hill, stage one of the strategy involves urban renewal precincts in Croydon (416 dwellings) and on Norton Street in Leichhardt (707 dwellings), in an area currently occupied by a shopping centre and the Italian Forum.

The Department of Planning, determined to increase housing supply, has warned the council it needs to hurry up. In an August letter, deputy secretary Marcus Ray noted the council had not met its housing targets and ought to show a sense of urgency.

“This is the Inner West Council’s only substantive planning proposal that unlocks significant housing supply,” he wrote. “While I support the council’s work to consult thoroughly with the community, this proposal has been in preparation for several years.”

A representative of pro-housing activist group Sydney YIMBY, Justin Simon, also addressed last week’s council meeting and said the proposal was good for housing diversity, young people and small business in the inner west.

He also asked the council to collect demographic information from people who participate in the forthcoming public consultation, including their age and home ownership status. Consultations “overwhelmingly attract older home owners who have particularly conservative attitudes”, Simon said, in remarks that met jeers from others in the gallery. Councillors agreed to collect the data.

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