Bates Smart Managing Director Philip Vivian believes that in order to solve the housing crisis, the public and private sector should combine their collective expertise to create cost-effective, above-station housing precincts in NSW.

Chris Minns’ housing plan sees some 31 rail precincts and future metro stations targeted for an increase in density. While Vivian believes this is a step in the right direction, he proposes a slight alteration to planning controls.

“As an alternative, the state government should be releasing development rights to build over-rail corridors within five minutes’ walking distance, or 400 metres, of a rail station,” he says in an editorial piece published in The Sydney Morning Herald.

“Rail corridors themselves are a massive state government land asset, which are by definition adjacent to public transport.

Above-station development typically involves a prefabricated land deck integrated above rail infrastructure to mitigate clashes with public transport. Vivian proposes a prefabricated housing precinct should be placed on each land deck, with a number of different typologies to be utilised.

Bates Smart has created two concepts in this vein above Newtown Station (low-rise community, pictured below) and Burwood Station (high-rise community, pictured top). The floor space ratio regulations of the LGA were applied, plus the state government’s bonus provision of 30 percent for delivering affordable housing on land within 400 metres of a rail station. The result? 613 new dwellings in Newtown, 1532 in Burwood and 750 units dedicated to affordable housing.

Under Vivian’s proposal, land costs would be removed via using air-rights above railways. The government can then partner with private developers to build housing on this land. Public-private partnerships would allow affordable housing to be built alongside market-rate units, making the project financially viable. This way, the government can maintain ownership of the land and some housing units, while leveraging private expertise for construction and management.

“The concept of over-rail infrastructure housing releases urban land supply over infrastructure in a build-to-rent ownership model; with an overarching criterion of public benefit,” Vivian writes. 

“Two tiers of government – state and local – would collaborate on delivering much-needed affordable housing on this public land, delivering immediate relief for the housing crisis and long-term public benefits.”

To read Vivian’s op-ed in full, click here.