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Sydney CBD and Western Harbour Precinct

Published on: October 2019

Record: HANSARD-1323879322-107880

Sydney CBD and Western Harbour Precinct

Ms FELICITY WILSON (North Shore) (15:29:49):

I address my question to the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces. Will the Minister update the House on how the Government is planning for the future of the Sydney CBD and the Western Harbour Precinct?

Mr ROB STOKES (PittwaterMinister for Planning and Public Spaces) (15:30:18):

— I plan to be entirely relevant to the question. On that note, I thank the member for North Shore for her question. She would know better than most about the need for strategic planning to grow cities and suburbs in a way that makes people's lives better and also preserves the beauty of Sydney's iconic harbour. I congratulate her on her advocacy for the acquisition of 1 Henry Lawson Drive to make sure that the harbourfront area around Blues Point is preserved for future generations.

Ms Lynda Voltz:

Oh, that's good news.

Mr ROB STOKES:

I heard the interjection from the member for Auburn, "Oh, that's good news," as if that is something that should not have been done. Members on this side of the House believe that the harbour foreshore belongs to everyone in New South Wales. We will take every opportunity to acquire lands for that purpose.

The SPEAKER:

I call the member for Auburn to order for the second time.

Mr ROB STOKES:

That is why as part of our vision for the Western Harbour Precinct we are looking to ensure the whole area, from Rozelle Bay all the way to Woolloomooloo Bay, has a publicly accessible waterfront. The nature, constraints and opportunities in the Pyrmont peninsula and the Western Harbour Precinct are not dissimilar to those faced by areas of the North Shore. Like areas north of the bridge, Pyrmont and the western harbour are both residential precincts and jobs hubs. In particular, with the development of Jacksons Landing over the last decade or so we have seen the Pyrmont peninsula go from a residential population of about 3,000 to about 9,000. It is also typified increasingly by jobs in tourism, in high-tech information technology and education.

Like the North Shore, Pyrmont and the Western Harbour Precinct also have high tourism value with the Powerhouse Museum, Darling Harbour and other attractions. When we are talking about the Eastern Harbour City, it is very clear that the eastern edge of that city is shaped by The Domain and the Royal Botanic Garden. There is a clear landscape break that shapes the eastern edge of the harbour city. However, in relation to the western side of the harbour city there was the container port, the port facilities and a whole range of industrial uses that have been displaced over time. They are mostly gone and have been replaced instead by a whole mismatch of different uses, supported by a whole mismatch of planning controls that have been accreted like some sort of palimpsest over the whole.

There is now a need to identify how we are going to approach the city from the west in this Western Harbour Precinct. There is a great opportunity. The existing context of heritage of different uses provides an incredible canvas to look at how we continue to grow jobs and grow opportunities for people to live in this great part of Sydney adjacent to the CBD. On one side we will have the new 183-metre tall Cockle Bay tower development right next to the CBD, which will provide up to a hectare of new public open space going right over the top of the Western Distributor, uniting the CBD back to the harbour at Darling Harbour.

On the other side we will have the new Sydney Fish Market at Blackwattle Bay, which is set to be visited by more than 5 million people each year as one of Australia's leading tourist attractions and drivers of job creation. More people visit the Sydney Fish Market than visit the Great Barrier Reef. The new fish markets will include public promenades, a ferry wharf and more than 30,000 square metres of new public open space for the community, not to mention the rebuilding of important pedestrian, cycling and open space connections between Glebe, Pyrmont and through the CBD to Woolloomooloo.

Extension of time

Getting the bit in the middle between Cockle Bay and the fish markets done right is both a challenge and an opportunity. That is why the Premier and I recently announced a review by the Greater Sydney Commission [GSC] into the Pyrmont and Western Harbour Precinct. We must begin forward planning for this area to ensure the best planning outcomes for the community of Pyrmont—whether they live or work there, or whether they are one of the many Sydneysiders or international tourists who visit every day. The GSC furnished its report to the Government just two weeks ago. Since then we have accepted all three recommendations and have begun our work to bring this entire mismatch of planning controls together to plan strategically for the region. What the report affirmed is that we must plan for this precinct strategically rather than on a site-by-site basis. []

This will ensure the long-term liveability and sustainability of the area. The report also identified the constraints of the region's current public transport offerings and the need to ensure that a whole range of transport options are provided to facilitate access to the precinct. There will be more to say on this in the future, but the Government will seek ways to partner with the community, the council and the private sector to ensure the best outcomes for this area.

An Opposition member interjected

[.]

I have had the opportunity to talk to some of the constituents of the member for Summer Hill about some great ideas for the western part of this precinct. We need to ensure that there is greater co-ordination of large‑scale developments in Pyrmont, particularly at the sites identified by the GSC as being capable of supporting greater density, including the Powerhouse, the Bays Precinct, The Star, the Harbourside Shopping Centre, the University of Technology Sydney and the existing and future fish market sites, but most importantly we now have an opportunity to plan for the green infrastructure as well and the open spaces in this area.

We need jobs and we need homes; we need the linkages between them as well. We have an opportunity to plan for pedestrian and cycling connections to link Rozelle Bay with the CBD and we have a chance to work together with council and local residents for the future of Pyrmont, which has not been done in more than 30 years. This is a prime jobs, tourism and residential precinct on the fringe of the CBD, which will become increasingly important as our city grows. We must therefore plan strategically for this area, just like we are doing for other inner city hubs set for revitalisation—such as the Central Station precinct and also Waterloo—to make sure that, as this city continues to grow, it continues to get better.