The partly-built Woollahra Station is set to be finished and nearby land rezoned for housing under a plan to 'rebalance' the development of new housing in Sydney
The NSW government has announced it will complete building Woollahra Station, and rezone nearby land for up to 10,000 new homes.What's next?abc.net.au/news/woollahra-station-to-be-finished-new-housing-sydney-s-east/105688040An abandoned, partially-built train station in Sydney's eastern suburbs is set to be resurrected and surrounded by up to 10,000 new homes.
The NSW government announced on Sunday it would finish building Woollahra Station and rezone land nearby for higher-density housing — nearly 50 years after another Labor government scrapped the station to save costs.Supplied: Woollahra CouncilThe incomplete station lies half-way between Edgecliff and Bondi Junction on a short stretch of railway connecting one pair of tunnels to another. The land immediately surrounding the dormant site is designated an R3 zone, which already allows medium-density housing, including flats. The rezoning, led by the state government, would enable up to 10,000 new homes to be built around Woollahra and Edgecliff stations. Developments would require a portion of affordable housing, although that amount is yet to be specified., near Parramatta, into apartments fell through.Supplied: Woollahra CouncilMr Minns said the Woollahra Station plan would "rebalance" the development of new housing in Sydney by shifting focus from west to east, where infrastructure is already in place. "For too long, young people and families in New South Wales have been forced to choose between moving away from the Sydney CBD and not being able to afford a home at all,"Speculation about an impending announcement grew on Friday as Labor frontbenchers refused to rule out the station during a volley of opposition questions at budget estimates. Woollahra Council, which objected to the station in the 1970s, has yet to take a stance this time, but Liberal Mayor Sarah Swan has demanded consultation. "Despite recent reassurances to Woollahra Council from senior staff at the NSW Department of Planning that there was no plan for the Woollahra Station site, this has clearly been in the pipeline for some time," Ms Swan said in a statement.Unknown construction start date The government said the rail service between Bondi and the city operated at just 43 per cent of its capacity during the morning peak, the "lowest" of any line in Sydney.A spokesperson for the premier said most of the construction would not require the line's closure.ABC News: Jack AilwoodMinister for Transport, John Graham, said the site was a "squandered" opportunity to provide an eight-minute train ride to the city from Sydney's east. Mr Graham praised former premier Neville Wran for his "foresight" by including a "future station at Woollahra" when his government finished the Eastern Suburbs Line in 1979. But it was Mr Wran's government that, in November 1976, announced it would abandon the station to save $3.4 million .At the time, Liberal MP for Bligh, John Barraclough, was in favour of the station. But in response to its axing, he was quoted by The Sydney Morning Herald as saying, "the elimination of Woollahra Station had to take place".Supplied: State Library of NSWThe building of the station divided locals, with The Sydney Morning Herald in 1972 declaring the "Battle of Woollahra railway". The head of the Preserve Woollahra Committee, Annette Proctor, told the newspaper, "we don't want it", saying the station would generate an "enormous amount of traffic". But there were plenty of residents who did want the station, including septuagenarian Lady Violet Braddon, who "defied arthritis" to gather more than 1,000 signatures for a petition calling for construction to go ahead.Photo shows 5 women looking concerned in front of a beach with Family Next Door and iview logo. The enigmatic Isabelle arrives in the quiet seaside cul-de-sac of Pleasant Court — and suspicions quickly rise. Stream all episodes now on ABC iview. With Lady Braddon's dream set to be realised more than four decades later, the current local Liberal MP, Kellie Sloane, must decide if she supports the station. Ms Sloane, regarded by some in her party as a future leader, won the seat of Vaucluse after campaigning against overdevelopment — but not without an independent eroding the Liberals' very safe margin. The rezoning is expected to take about two years, making its finalisation unlikely to occur before the next state election in March 2027.
Nsw Government Nsw Premier Chris Minns Woollahra Housing Policy Rezone Land Around Woollahra Train Station Woollahra Council Mayor Of Woollahra Sarah Swan Plans To Revive Eastern Suburbs Railway Line Environmental Impact Statement Transport Minister John Graham Neville Wran Labor Governments
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