Decision details

Minute by the Lord Mayor

To Council:

At 278 hectares, Green Square is Australia’s largest urban renewal project with a redevelopment cost of $22 billion at its completion. By 2036, it will have approximately 63,000 residents and up to 22,000 workers – a density of around 22,600 people per square kilometre or 226 per hectare, among the highest densities in Australia for a renewal area of this size. Around 33,000 residents – more than half of the total population - has already moved in.

However, when the City took control in 2006, the Town Centre was virtually moribund. The industrial land was heavily contaminated and significantly affected by flooding.

Along with master planning, we have been delivering on a $1.8 billion local infrastructure plan for services and facilities – roads and footpaths, new parks and playgrounds, public art and childcare, as well as funding more than half of the $140 million, 2.5-kilometre stormwater trunk drain, which was the responsibility of the NSW Government. The City has already funded $700 million to ensure local community infrastructure is in place as residents move in.

However, despite increasing the population density at Green Square being the policy of successive NW Governments since 1995 and reaping billions in stamp duty windfall gains, they have been slow to meet their state infrastructure responsibilities.

Investment in mass transit at a major growth centre at Zetland is long overdue. This would help reduce congestion, manage current capacity problems and encourage more public transport use in the future.

The former NSW Government explored extending the Sydney Metro West to Zetland by 2031, as part of initial plans for Stage 1 Metro West. However, as project costs soared, a connection to Zetland was dropped. It was later envisaged as an eastern extension under the NSW Government’s South East Transport Strategy 2022 by 2041, but it cannot wait until then.

I made it clear to the previous government that Sydney Metro West, continued out to Zetland, is essential and must be delivered as soon as possible. I have, again, raised the urgency of mass transit solutions to Green Square such as the Metro in recent letters to, and meetings with, the new NSW Premier, Treasurer, Minister for Transport and Minister for Planning and Public Spaces. 

I welcome the NSW Government’s Independent Review Interim Report into the Sydney Metro project, which recommends consideration of a further eastern extension to Sydney Metro West.

The City’s long-term strategic plan, Sustainable Sydney 2030- 2050: Continuing the Vision, responds to the NSW Government’s South East Sydney Transport Strategy 2020 and envisages future stations around the University of NSW, Prince of Wales Hospital and Sydney Children's hospital to better connect current and future innovation, knowledge and employment centres, helping to foster innovation precincts and space for the jobs of the future.

Such an extension would also take more cars off the road and help to transform key major city gateways such as Oxford Street, Botany Road, and Broadway, currently acting as traffic sewers, into green, pedestrian and cycling friendly avenues – making them welcoming entries to the city centre.

For years, the City has worked with developers to preserve Zetland Avenue as a transport corridor. That would not only accommodate a Green Square light rail connection to central Sydney, but also presents an excellent opportunity for a metro stop. Zetland Avenue is appropriately sized to fit a metro station, on an axis with a useful alignment eastwards to Randwick and beyond.

Infrastructure like the Sydney Harbour Bridge or Opera House was expensive at the time of construction, and people had their doubts. But leaders must look beyond what is hard in the moment and build what is needed for future communities.

New metro stations such as Zetland are an overdue, necessary correction so I was pleased to read recent media reports that the NSW Government is now seriously considering a metro stop at Zetland.

The City of Sydney is prepared to work with the NSW Government to identify appropriate land and a construction area including consideration of leases, stratum land sales and public domain upgrades to reduce the cost of a delivering a metro station at Zetland for the NSW Government to be delivered as part of the Sydney Metro West scope as soon as possible.

Recommendation

It is resolved that:

(A)       Council note:

(i)         by 2036, Green Square will have approximately 63,000 residents and up to 22,000 workers - a density of around 22,600 people per square kilometre or 226 per hectare, among the highest densities in Australia for an area of this size;

(ii)        the City of Sydney is meeting its public infrastructure obligations with a $1.8 billion local infrastructure plan for services and facilities, with $700 million already funded to ensure community infrastructure is in place as residents move in;

(iii)       the former NSW Government explored extending Sydney Metro West to Zetland by 2031, as part of plans for Stage 1 Metro West, but it was dropped;

(iv)       the NSW Government's South East Transport Strategy 2020 envisages a metro stop at Zetland by 2041, but it cannot wait until then;

(v)        an eastern extension to Sydney Metro West including a stop at Zetland (Green Square) is one of the future transformative projects outlined in Sustainable Sydney 2030- 2050: Continuing the Vision; and

(vi)       that the Lord Mayor raised the urgency of mass transit solutions to Green Square including metro in recent letters to and meetings with the new NSW Premier, Treasurer, Minister for Transport and Minister for Planning and Public Spaces;

(B)       the Chief Executive Officer be requested to investigate options for appropriate land and a construction area, including consideration of leases, stratum land sales and public domain upgrades, to reduce the cost of a delivering a metro station at Zetland for the NSW Government to be delivered under Stage 1 of Sydney Metro West, and report back to Council on the outcome of those investigations and next steps via the CEO Update; and

(C)       the Lord Mayor be requested to write again to the NSW Premier, Treasurer, and Minister for Transport with a copy of this Lord Mayoral Minute and calling on the NSW Government to work with the City of Sydney to address the significant transport infrastructure deficit at Green Square by extending Sydney Metro West eastwards to Zetland as part of the Sydney Metro West scope as soon as possible.

COUNCILLOR CLOVER MOORE AO

Lord Mayor

Moved by the Chair (the Lord Mayor), seconded by Councillor Chan –

That the Minute by the Lord Mayor be endorsed and adopted.

Carried unanimously.

S051491