A trip from Woollahra to Sydney’s CBD will take eight minutes, and the government hopes to offset the cost of building the station through “value capture on increased land value” — essentially charging a per home amount to developers looking to capitalise on the increase in land value.
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Housing Minister Rose Jackson said in a statement the government wasn’t afraid to “take on NIMBYs” to get the new homes built.
The plan is expected to be controversial with locals and politicians. Woollahra Mayor Sarah Swan has criticised the government’s low and mid-rise housing reforms as “lazy and ill-informed”.
Ahead of the government’s announcement, Swan called for more consultation with the local community “far further than the bare regulatory minimum”.
“If the NSW Government is committed to this major redevelopment in our local area, then there will be a significant impact on our community and we would expect to be involved in all traffic, transport and environmental investigations and subsequent planning decisions,” she said.
A brochure distributed by the council with Swan’s name attached says the reforms mean the “tree-lined streets, heritage features and pedestrian amenity are on the way out” and that the council area already has its fair share of high density.
It says that, given the market demand in Woollahra, new developments are likely to be luxury apartments. The state government said affordable housing would make up a proportion of development, but the exact percentage was yet to be decided.
Liberal member for Vaucluse Kellie Sloane previously said she was open to the idea of a new station but that she wanted to see the modelling first.
In July, Sloane told the Herald she supported “far more ambitious” development at Edgecliff in perhaps her strongest pro-development comments to date.
“At Edgecliff, we could build at least 30 storeys, instead of the current seven, and unlock significant uplift around the station precinct,” she said.
Committee for Sydney CEO Eamon Waterford praised the development as having the potential to transform the area “from an exclusive enclave reserved for the wealthy to an inclusive place where the people who keep our city running can afford to live in the communities they serve”.
“If we get the affordable housing part of this right, it will change the destiny of Sydney’s east,” he said, noting nurses, teachers and hospitality workers were largely priced out of property in these suburbs.
The NSW government’s target is 377,000 new homes by 2029 under the National Housing Accord. Woollahra has been given a target of 1900.
Minns had hoped to put a huge dent in the NSW target by buying Rosehill Racecourse for $5 billion and turning it into a mini-city of 25,000 homes, complete with a new metro station.
In May, members of the Australian Turf Club rejected the proposal.
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