The New South Wales Government’s new rezoning plans for Transport Oriented Development (TOD) Accelerated Precincts are set to deliver more homes, jobs and amenities.
Set to deliver up to 31,855 new homes, including up to 3,348 affordable homes, and supported by more than 20,000 jobs, the Bankstown, Crows Nest and Homebush rezoning proposals are in addition to the TOD Accelerated Precincts at Kellyville, Bella Vista, Hornsby and Macquarie Park announced previously.
Community consultation for the Bays West TOD rezoning proposal will occur with the exhibition of the masterplan in mid-2025.
Group two proposals
The proposals for the second group of TOD Accelerated Precincts are:
Crows Nest – 3,255 new homes with between 325-488 as affordable housing and 2,600 new jobs
The Crows Nest TOD Accelerated Precinct rezoning proposal will allow for a variety of residential and non-residential land uses within walking distance of train and metro stations. The precinct is in an area earmarked for growth and renewal through the St Leonards and Crows Nest 2036 Plan.
It is also expected to increase the amount of affordable housing near to Royal North Shore Hospital, one of the largest general hospitals in Australia, and implement the recommendations of the St Leonards and Crows Nest 2036 Plan.
It is proposed that housing across the precinct will be focused within St Leonards Centre and along the spine of the Pacific Highway to the Crows Nest Metro Station, which is planned to open from 4 August. This will help activate the highway for new investment and new business opportunities.
The rezoning proposal includes a mandatory affordable housing requirement of ten to 15 per cent in all new residential development, to be held in perpetuity and managed by a registered Community Housing Provider (CHP).
In addition, six sites have been identified in the proposed plans as having capacity to deliver 15 per cent affordable housing, through incentives such as height and floor space ratios.
Public spaces, vibrancy and amenity are planned to be provided through improved walking and active transport links, and direct access to existing open space at Gore Hill Oval, Newlands Park and Hume Street Park.
Bankstown – 12,500 new homes with between 375-1,250 as affordable housing and 15,000 new jobs
Bankstown is known for its diverse multicultural community, easy access to public transport and a variety of retail and restaurants to choose from.
The Bankstown TOD proposal aims to increase housing supply in Bankstown City Centre by enabling greater residential, commercial and recreational uses within walking distance of Bankstown Station and the new Metro station.
The proposal will feature residential and commercial buildings ranging from one to 25 storeys clustered around the new Metro station. The rezoning proposal also has requirements for non-residential floor space ratios within the CBD, to retain Bankstown’s vibrant local economy.
The rezoning proposal includes a mandatory affordable housing contribution of between three to ten per cent in all new residential development.
It also aims to increase community amenity and open spaces. Potential upgrades are proposed for Memorial Park and Griffith Park to better protect the character and amenity of Saigon Place, while creating new potential links between residential areas and Bankstown’s CBD.
Homebush – 16,100 new homes with between 805-1,610 as affordable housing and 2,670 new jobs
The Homebush TOD Accelerated Precinct comprises about 200ha of land between the Sydney and Parramatta CBDs. The rezoning enables a variety of land uses including residential, commercial and recreational within walking distance of four train stations (Homebush, North Strathfield, Strathfield and Concord West) and a future metro station (North Strathfield).
The rezoning proposal includes a mandatory affordable housing contribution of between five to ten per cent in all new residential development.
Homebush’s rezoning aims to implement the vision outlined in the Parramatta Road Corridor Urban Transformation Strategy (PRCUTS). Increased density will initially be focused on the western side of North Strathfield Station and along Parramatta Road.
Improved green spaces will be part of the precinct’s future planning with potential new public domain areas, cycleways and tree canopy improvements. Potential upgrades are proposed for Wentworth Reserve, Powells Creek Corridor, Underwood Road and Crane Street Park.
The TOD program is part of the New South Wales Government’s commitment to rebalance housing growth around transport infrastructure in order to combat the housing crisis and provide opportunities for the next generation of people instead of having them leave the city.
According to a report by the New South Wales Productivity and Equality Commissioner, between 2016 and 2021, Sydney lost twice as many people aged 30 to 40 as it gained, with a net loss of 35,000 young people from the city.
To encourage vibrant communities in the TOD Accelerated Precincts, Special Entertainment Precincts (SEP) will be enabled to support live entertainment through extended trading hours for live music venues and favourable noise controls that provide operational certainty for venues, neighbouring residents and businesses.
The TOD Accelerated Precincts will share in $520 million which has been reserved for investment community infrastructure such as critical road upgrades, active transport links and good quality open spaces. Each area will also have their own local infrastructure contributions plans to collect contributions which will enable council to provide new or expanded local infrastructure.
Each of the TOD Accelerated Precincts will also have access to changed planning rules unique to those precincts to accelerate the delivery of homes and jobs.
These changes to planning rules have been placed on public exhibition and include:
- Time-limited approvals to encourage construction to get underway more quickly
- A new State Significant Development threshold
- Exemptions from low-risk concurrence and referral requirements
- An alternate design excellence pathway
The public exhibition of the state-led rezonings proposals for these three TOD Accelerated Precincts will occur from 16 July to 16 August 2024.
New South Wales Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Paul Scully, said that housing is the largest single cost of living issue facing the people of New South Wales, which is why the government has been relentless in pursuing planning reform from day one.
“The TOD Accelerated Precincts are part of a suite of interrelated planning reforms from the New South Wales Government to build better homes and better communities,” Minister Scully said.
“These additional three precincts will help to deliver more well-located homes, close to transport and amenities, that are also close to new job opportunities as each of the rezonings enable a mix of residential and non-residential land uses, placing good homes and jobs at their core.
“These precincts provide more homes for all stages of life, whether people are renting, downsizing, or jumping on the property ladder for the first time.”
Industry response
The Property Council of Australia has welcomed the new rezoning plans, the council’s New South Wales Executive Director, Katie Stevenson, saying that the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI) was setting a strong pace on the rezonings, due to be finalised by the end of 2024.
“Faster, smarter planning means more homes sooner. As one of the lead advocates for this major urban planning reform, we’re thrilled to see government setting a strong pace with Transport Oriented Development,” Ms Stevenson said.
“These seven precincts are set to unlock the potential for up to 47,800 new homes in the next 15 years, all close to transport, jobs and services, and supported by appropriate community infrastructure.”
Ms Stevenson said that the Property Council had worked closely with DPHI in the last 12 months to fine-tune the details of the TOD approach.
“Delivering on our National Housing Accord target is a shared responsibility, and we’ll only get there through ongoing and close collaboration between all levels of government and industry.
“With cold economic headwinds blowing through the construction sector and impacting project feasibility, we need to make sure we’re working hand in hand to get these new homes built.”
Ms Stevenson said that DPHI and other government agencies would be taking questions from the Upper House Inquiry into development of the TOD when it meets on 24 July.
“We need to keep up the momentum and it’s important to stay agile and ready to consider fresh thinking and changing circumstances, so the Inquiry’s scrutiny on the program is welcome.
“Our submission to the Inquiry included a call for government to release quickly the next tranche of sites to be progressed under the TOD Program in Q2 2024.
“This kind of clarity on future sites would help industry better orientate their capital, labour and planning for the forward in-fill residential pipeline.”
Image: Elias Bitar/shutterstock.com
