Prepare for ‘significant change’: Rezonings will override local heritage rules - Sydney Morning Herald

The NSW government’s plan to rezone land around train stations for more housing will override local heritage protections and create special entertainment precincts at each of the 39 locations identified in the plan, including in Sydney’s inner west and north shore.

An explanatory document obtained by the Herald says the intervention will result in “significant change” in heritage suburbs as additional housing is delivered. “It is important to work together to embrace the transition that will occur as the character of these locations evolves,” it says.

A home near Roseville train station. New planning controls will allow six storey apartment buildings within 400 metres of the station, and 30 others.Credit: Steven Siewert

The guidelines confirm the government’s new planning controls will apply in heritage conservation areas, which are applied by local councils to limit development and protect the existing character of a suburb. There are hundreds across Sydney, mainly in the inner west, east and north shore.

Heritage zones surround all four north shore train stations targeted under the program – Roseville, Lindfield, Killara and Gordon – as well as much of Croydon, Dulwich Hill and Balmain/Rozelle, which is within 1200 metres of the Bays West Metro station.

However, the transit-oriented development program will not apply to land currently zoned for industrial purposes, “to make sure these critical land uses are retained and managed”. That means much of the land surrounding Turella station, which is on the list, will remain industrial.

The guidelines say that while the controls override local heritage rules, “a merit-based assessment will continue to apply to developments in these locations and relevant heritage controls will apply to the extent they are not inconsistent with the new standards”.

Heritage Council of NSW chair Frank Howarth said his organisation had no problem with the government’s approach and it seemed reasonable.

“We’re as much about change as we are about preservation. If we don’t change, we don’t get the heritage of the future,” he said. “The [Heritage] Council has discussed the government’s policy around providing housing, and we will do what we can to support that policy.”

But some Sydney mayors are alarmed by what they see as an unnecessary intervention in local heritage zones when they had already earmarked other areas in their municipalities for housing growth.

John Faker, the Labor mayor of Burwood, said the changes threatened the integrity of the large Malvern Hill Conservation Area near Croydon station, which was developed from 1909 and given heritage protection in the 1980s.

He invited Planning Minister Paul Scully to visit the estate, which encompasses just over 200 houses, many in the Californian Bungalow style.

“It’s sad, it’s disappointing, and it makes me angry that they’re going to push aside the character of established areas like Croydon to really push through these plans,” Faker said. “If they proceed with this, then people are going to lose faith in the proposed changes.”

Scully said heritage and housing could successfully co-exist through adaptive reuse, whereby the facades of older buildings are preserved but added to and repurposed.

“It does not need to be a choice of one or the other,” he said. “Some of the densest cities in the world have recognised and celebrated their built heritage, while still allow housing and infrastructure to grow and develop.”

Scully said on Thursday the eight accelerated precincts, including Bays West, would deliver “much higher density” in the 1200 metres surrounding those stations, while the 31 other precincts where new controls will be imposed would allow buildings up to six storeys.

All 39 will also become “special entertainment precincts” to stimulate nighttime economic activity. The model, based on the Enmore Road pilot in the inner west, means venues can trade later and are exempt from many of the normal rules about amplified music.

Ku-ring-gai mayor Sam Ngai was torn on that prospect, noting constituents wanted to revive the Marian Street Theatre in Killara but probably did not want an “Enmore Road-style” entertainment district. He also said residents were divided about heritage protection.

“I know there will be many residents in the area who would be abhorred by this [announcement] because they love the area they live in, they’re keen to preserve the character of the area,” he said. “At the same time, I do know some younger residents who may be more open to it.”

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.