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Suburb: HOMEBUSH BAY BRIDGE
Address: WENTWORTH POINT-RHODES
includes:
41-45 Hill Rd (See more details under Wentworth Point)
Application No: Part 3a application to NSW Government
Background: The proposed bridge, a joint project by Bilbergia Group, Sekisui House, Homebush Bay Holdings and Homebush Bay Properties is designed to provide pedestrian, bicycle and limited bus transport between Wentworth Point and Rhodes.
While there are currently several applications for 41-45 Hill Rd under assessment, (see under Wentworth Point 41-45 Hill Rd), the part 3A application to the NSW Government calls for substantially increased heights and densities on these and other sites to compensate for the cost to the developers of building the bridge.
If approved, construction of the bridge is anticipated to take 18 to 24 months, with the main work site to be on the Wentworth Point foreshore.
What impacts will there be?: Due to the need to provide sufficient clearance for water craft, the bridge landing point at Wentworth Point will come into the area at the equivalent of approx. 2 storey height.
The applicants propose a height increase on their land holdings from 32 metres to between 48.1 and 91.5 metres, and, to provide for approximately 120,000 square metres of additional residential floorspace, by increasing the existing maximum floor space ratio (FSR) from 1.5:1 to between 1.8:1 and 2.4:1. This will probably translate to approx. a further 1,200 dwellings above that "Masterplanned' by the Dept. of Planning previously under the Homebush Bay West Masterplan.
Our concerns include: If the NSW Government agrees that this is vital infrastructure for this area, then the bridge should be built and paid for by the NSW Government, with no increase in density on the peninsular. As development at Rhodes is almost complete, there is no site at Rhodes to build any of the residential apartments that the developers wish to build in order to recoup the money for the bridge. This means that ALL the development uplift will be borne by the Auburn City LGA residents, namely Wentworth Point residents, who bought into the area with a maximum allowable height of 8 storeys. There may now be some 29 storey buildings in Wentworth Point.
Traffic is also a major issue for this area. Contrary to studies produced by developers, there has been a significant increase in the volume of traffic which uses Hill Rd, Bennelong Rd, etc. The increased traffic from an additional 1,200 units above that envisaged by the Dept of Planning when it set the current parking levels, will have significant impacts on both Wentworth Point and Newington residents, with flow on effects to other suburbs, such as Lidcombe. |
