Plans for Waterloo and Alexandria to create more than 15,000 jobs

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The City of Sydney has released strategic plans to encourage
business development, entertainment and retail opportunities along Botany Road
and the north Alexandria light industrial area.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the proposed changes – some of
the most significant in Sydney for the last 20 years – would guide considered
development in the rapidly growing city south.

“South Sydney is an amazing part of our city, rich with
Indigenous and industrial histories – we are introducing new planning controls to
ensure the area reaches its potential and thrives into the future,” the Lord
Mayor said.

“The proposed changes will drive investment in commercial
floorspace, provide employment opportunities, and creative space for our
community as well as affordable housing. Developers will be given floorspace
and height incentives for investing in these developments, conveniently located
close to transport and jobs.

“We estimate that the proposal will create more than 15,000
jobs in a wide range of industries, from office-based employment through to
high-end manufacturing, helping us meet future demand for jobs in the local
area.

“We will also improve the public domain with widened
footpaths, new cycleways and laneways to improve the area’s walkability and
access to key transport hubs, including the new Waterloo Metro Station.”

Redevelopment driven by strategic location

City of Sydney Director of City Planning, Development and
Transport, Graham Jahn AM said the City focused on the Botany Road and North
Alexandria Precinct for several reasons, but primarily location.

“These changes provide substantial new floor space and
unlock the potential of areas that are strategically located between the CBD,
Sydney airport and Port Botany,” Mr Jahn said.

“We’re investing in public spaces to breathe life into older
commercial and industrial areas. We’re also establishing new planning controls
that support growth and promote the economy in a centralised, but often
overlooked, location.

“These areas are close to public transport, including the
new Waterloo Metro, as well as amenities in and around Green Square town
centre.”

The Botany Road Precinct covers 21.4 hectares to the east
and west of Botany Road and is bound by Gibbons Street to the north, Cope
Street to the east, McEvoy Street to the south and Garden and Wyndham streets
to the west.

The North Alexandria Precinct covers 36 hectares in area and
is bound by McEvoy Street to the north, Wyndham Street to the east, Bowden
Street to the West, and O’Riordan and Johnston streets to the south.

Amending LEPs and DCPs for growth

The North Alexandria
Precinct planning proposal seeks to amend the Sydney Local Environmental
Plan and Sydney Development Control Plan to:

  • build on opportunities created by the City’s
    recent investment in open space in the area
  • encourage businesses to form an entertainment
    destination
  • create a mid-rise enterprise precinct and
    increase opportunities for commercial offices close to public transport
  • preserve heritage character and encourage
    well-designed adaptive reuse
  • continue to facilitate affordable housing in
    north Alexandria
  • provide flexible built form that accommodates
    the needs of a range of employment types and can be modified as businesses grow
    and evolve

The Botany Road
Precinct planning proposal seeks to amend the Sydney Local Environmental
Plan and Sydney Development Control Plan to:

  • recognise and celebrate the historical
    significance of the area to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
  • encourage the delivery of new commercial
    buildings and new affordable housing developments
  • enable the creation of a new laneway network,
    footpath widenings, new street plantings
  • encourage high environmental performance standards
    for buildings
  • ensure 10% or more of any affordable housing
    projects is provided for First Nations people
  • revitalise Regent Street as a high street that’s
    active at day and night

Responding to Engagement and Consultation

The City’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
were widely consulted at early stages of the proposals’ development in keeping
with the area’s rich Indigenous and industrial histories.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said recognising and respecting the
area’s cultural, historical and political histories were an essential part of
the proposal.

“We need to protect and recognise the importance of Botany
Road and the surrounding area to First Nations people – not only for its
connection to country but as a place central to the Aboriginal rights
movement,” the Lord Mayor said.

Both proposals will go for gateway determination in August,
with public exhibition anticipated before the end of the year.

See the full Botany Road precinct proposal and the North
Alexandria proposal.

ends

The links to Council papers for these Planning Proposals are: