High-rise development plans in Sydney's east and south have been dumped after a community revolt, prompting a Liberal MP to reveal he was "ropeable" at his government's handling of one of the proposals. But the state government will forge ahead with a vision to squeeze more residents into established Sydney suburbs, this time pledging to seek public backing before cementing its plans.
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Planning Minister Pru Goward is on Sunday expected to unveil Sydney's metropolitan strategy – a blueprint showing how the city will accommodate 1.3 million extra people by 2031.
The so-called Plan for Growing Sydney will include more intense development in some suburbs and transport corridors to create homes and jobs.
Fairfax Media has learned the government will target a raft of suburbs within a 30-minute public transport ride to central Sydney for potential growth. They are along several rail lines: Kings Cross to Bondi Junction; Hornsby to North Sydney and Strathfield; and Sydenham to Bankstown, Sutherland and East Hills. It has also confirmed housing growth will be accelerated at Banksia and Arncliffe, in Sydney's south.
The suburbs will join eight other areas already earmarked for high growth, including Epping, North Ryde, Macquarie Park, Bella Vista and Kellyville. These areas will now be known as "priority precincts". The term replaces the much maligned "urban activation precincts" – areas where high-rise apartment blocks of up to 30 storeys were being pushed by former planning minister Brad Hazzard.
The plans spawned a political, public and council backlash. It has emerged that Ms Goward, who took the portfolio in April, has scrapped plans for more dense development at Randwick and Mascot following the outcry. Similar plans at Anzac Parade are on indefinite hold.
Coogee MP Bruce Notley-Smith said the growth planned for Randwick was inappropriate, adding he was "ropeable" at Mr Hazzard's proposal.
"I don't believe that it was handled in the best possible way," he said, adding that "massive development" should not be "lumped upon" communities. Mr Hazzard did not respond to a request for comment.
Community groups say the government ignored their views on urban activation precincts, while developers complained about delays when the proposals stalled.
Ms Goward has stopped short of promising to abandon growth plans if councils and communities object. The plans indicate that priority precincts may still proceed if the site is important to more than one council area.
Rockdale council unanimously voted for development around Arncliffe and Banksia train stations, and on the Princes Highway corridor between them. The government will spend $10 million on local infrastructure and "leverage large industrial and commercial sites … to open up the land for new neighbourhoods close to transport," Ms Goward said.
The government will also engage experts to help devise new guidelines on how built environments can promote walking, cycling and socialising, as well as discourage crime.
It says urban renewal will include better access to parks, shops and restaurants, and more choice of homes and jobs.
