Transport-oriented development projects for Berala, Canterbury, North Strathfield
A Sydney suburb is set to transform with 9200 new dwellings to be built around its train station. Meanwhile, further down the line, a council has been praised for going “above and beyond” to embrace dense development.
by Joanna Vella, The Daily Telegraph, 30 October, 2024
More than 9200 homes will be built in the centre of Berala under the state government’s transport-oriented development zones, which enable apartment blocks up to six storeys tall within 400m of train stations.
Cumberland Council has finalised its planning controls for the project, which will allow taller shop-top unit blocks to be built across 37 locations across the state, where 170,000 homes are expected to be built in the next 15 years.
Berala was picked for its “great location and capacity for growth” near public transport and shops, but critics have tried unsuccessfully to scrap it from the program over concerns services would not cope with the population influx.
Councillor Paul Garrard said there was not even a high school at Berala despite almost 10,000 new homes being earmarked for the suburb.
“I would hope that there’s some pullback on that but I don’t see that happening in a hurry,’’ he said.
“They call it a transport hub now, but there’s very little transport there.’’
Canterbury-Bankstown Council is the first to release its masterplan that goes “above and beyond” transport-oriented development provisions to deliver a potential 3200 new homes around Canterbury Station.
Planning Minister Paul Scully said he wanted to see other councils follow Canterbury’s approach for taller, denser buildings.
“I congratulate (Canterbury-Bankstown) Mayor Bilal El-Hayek for leading his council through the process of developing comprehensive local housing plans in a relatively short time,’’ he said.
“This is exactly the approach we would like to see from every council – not just the 13 hosting (transport-oriented development) sites – as every level of government must be looking to what it can do to help deliver more homes, more quickly.’’
The state government is now assessing the council’s plans, with new planning controls to come into effect once amendments are made to the Canterbury-Bankstown Local Environmental Plan.
The government is also working with Canada Bay Council to finalise plans for transport-oriented development in North Strathfield at the same time as the Homebush “accelerated precinct”, both to be announced before the end of the year.
North Strathfield’s transport-oriented development boundary is on the eastern side of the station, while the Homebush “accelerated precinct” lies to the west.
Mr Scully said the importance of the project could not be “overstated as communities feel the pinch from the cost-of-living crisis”.
