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.
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