NSW Government to Change Sydney’s Central Station Rezoning

In an update to Sydney’s Central Station precinct rezoning, the NSW government is quietly moving to get rid of a crucial part of the plan. Critics argue that this will waste tens of millions of dollars spent on plans and force a future authority back to square one if major redevelopment is considered again.

About eight hectares at the heart of Central Station were to receive the same zoning as most of the CBD, under Transport for NSW’s proposal several years ago.

The zoning plan was referred to as “SP5” and would’ve allowed for towers as high as 34 storeys to be built as part of an over-station development on the strategically important site.

However, the Department of Planning is now considering a major revision to the plan that will result in maintaining the existing zoning for the eight-hectare area. The current zoning only permits rail-related use, according to sources close to the project who have requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

This revision would remove the ability to develop about 365,000 square metres of floor space, the equivalent of almost four-fifths of the total for the Central Station precinct under the original Transport of NSW proposal in 2022. For context, one of Sydney’s largest urban renewal projects, the Barangaroo redevelopment, comprises about 600,000 square metres of floor space.

Last year, the Minns government ditched the former administration’s long-term plans for a multibillion-dollar “super deck” at Central Station. The plan involved building a giant deck above the regional and inter-city rail lines that terminate at Central, and the construction of more than a dozen buildings, including 850 apartments.

Precinct rezoning alterations will be a significant setback

Critics argue that the latest plans to significantly alter the proposed rezoning would be a further setback if a future government decides to push ahead with an over-station development in the coming decades.

Tom Forrest, chief executive of the Urban Taskforce, said there was no sensible reason for abandoning the rezoning of a key part of the government-owned precinct.

While the feasibility of the super-deck development might not stack up at present, Forrest said it should not mean “that you throw the baby out with the bathwater and revert the zoning back to its historic limited use”.

“It would be like when cost constraints were threatening the viability of the Sydney Opera House … [and] rezoning it back to being a tram shed,” said Forrest, who is a former NSW Labour chief of staff.

“In good faith, both the private sector and government have spent tens of millions of dollars on developing options to make the SP5 zoning work. Unfortunately, at this point, government has decided not to progress that. But why rule out any future options being considered?”

Scott Farlow, Opposition planning spokesman, said the government appeared to be putting a pin in any significant renewal for the area.

“This is another act of a government that lacks ambition for NSW’s future,” he said. “The central Sydney precinct is an opportunity for our city to create a world-class tech and innovation precinct while providing open space and desperately needed homes.”

In a one-sentence statement to the Sydney Morning Herald, the Department of Planning said it “will continue its merit-based assessment of the proposal and will communicate further once a final determination is made.”

A NSW government spokesperson said a revised masterplan, focusing on the state’s priority to deliver more housing and address “today’s market conditions”, had been prepared, and its associated revised rezoning application was under consideration by the Planning Department.