A plan to build 700 residential units above a new metro station in Waterloo has been decried by the City of Sydney, due to concerns about housing affordability and poorly planned density.
The State Government and Sydney Metro are proposing the development of four towers of 29, 25, 23 and 14 storeys containing approximately 700 dwellings. Of these dwellings, 10 percent have been earmarked for social housing, and 5-10 percent for affordable housing. The proposal also includes up to 427 car parking spaces, as well as spaces for bicycles, motorcycles and service vehicles.
The 'Waterloo Metro Quarter Over Station Development' proposal has received over 100 submissions citing concerns about building height, car parking, population density, traffic and over-shadowing.
One of the City of Sydney’s primary concerns is the lack of affordable and social housing planned for the development, which would be one of the highest density projects in Australia. Other concerns include a lack of open space, excessive building heights that clash with the surrounding area, the overshadowing of Alexandria Park, and an excess of car parking (considering the development’s location above a metro station).
Infrastructure NSW is currently preparing a response to the submissions, to be assessed by City of Sydney and the NSW Department of Planning and Environment.
Image credit: UrbanGrowth NSW
