Developers have started to approach north shore residents seeking to buy their homes just weeks after the state government announced it would change planning rules to allow higher-density housing near train stations.
The Herald spoke to half a dozen property owners in one block near Roseville station. All said they had been approached about selling their houses, either in person or by mail, by developers and real estate agents. Some had been contacted by four or more parties.
Roseville, one station north of Chatswood on the north shore line, is among the 31 suburbs earmarked for higher density housing.Credit: Dion Georgppoulos
One letter to home owners from developer Landmark Group, dated January 15, noted the land was earmarked for rezoning and said: “We are currently speaking with your neighbours to drive this process and we would like to speak with you regarding the opportunity.”
The state government announced in December that it would apply new planning controls to land near 31 train stations, including Roseville, Lindfield, Killara and Gordon on the north shore, Banksia, Rockdale and Kogarah in the south, and several inner west stations.
From April, apartment buildings of up to six storeys will be permitted within 400 metres of those stations, regardless of whether the land is zoned for low, medium or high density residential, or as a local or commercial centre. It will also apply in heritage conservation areas.
Supporting documents say these communities should prepare for “major change”. The locations were chosen because they have “enabling infrastructure capacity close to a transport station to support additional housing growth”, the Department of Planning says.
“I do recognise that people need houses, so I’ll probably move on”: Roseville resident of 50 years Suzanne Napthali.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos
Roseville resident Suzanne Napthali said she and her neighbours had been flooded with requests from developers in the weeks since the zoning changes were announced. The retired teacher, who lives alone in a five-bedroom house about 100 metres from the station, said she would be sad to leave her home of more than 50 years.
“But I do recognise that people need houses, so I’ll probably move on,” she said. “It’s better to build up around railway stations than take away nature or agricultural land.”
Napthali said she and her neighbours were discussing how to proceed, and she had sought expert advice. None of them wanted to live next to construction or alongside an apartment tower, she said.
“We’re all talking to each other. We don’t want to be taken advantage of, but we don’t want to be greedy. We want to be somewhere in the middle ... I’ve heard [about] some terrible scenarios if you don’t know what you’re doing.”
Zoning around Roseville station. The dark red is R4 high-density residential; the light red is R2 low-density residential.Credit: NSW Planning Spatial Viewer
Landmark Group’s head of sales and acquisitions Mark Meyer said the developer was “putting our feelers out” to all landowners within the proposed rezoning areas, and warned owners to beware of opportunists looking to lock up the land and agents who wanted commission. “If you don’t align yourself with the right people, you could be left behind,” he said.
Meyer said the north shore had been one of the most challenging precincts for development. “They’ve been so anti-development for so many years,” he said. “The reality is we’re not delivering enough homes for the proposed population growth.”
Roseville, as with other north shore suburbs, already has some apartment buildings near the station. A sliver of land directly beside the train line is zoned for high-density residential. At one end of Napthali’s street, 37 luxury apartments are under construction.
Liberal MP Matt Cross, whose seat of Davidson includes that section of the north shore line, said several constituents had contacted him saying they had been approached by developers over the December and January holiday period.
Cross said he would write to Minister for Fair Trading Anoulack Chanthivong asking him to ensure residents were informed of their rights as the developers circled. “The lack of consultation and just how quickly this is moving is concerning,” he said.
Premier Chris Minns on Sunday urged home owners approached by agents or developers to seek independent advice, understand what their property was worth and speak to their neighbours.
“You’ve got every right to seek and get the full value of that property,” he said. “There’s not a law the government can pass, I don’t believe, that can capture that kind of market interaction.”
Planning Minister Paul Scully said it was promising to see there was already industry interest in acting on the government’s plans. The government wants to oversee the construction of 377,000 homes over the next five years.
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