More homes on the way for Wollongong, Central Coast and Sydney

More homes will be able to be built near transport hubs at five key locations across Greater Sydney, the Central Coast and the Illawarra, with the Minns Labor Government’s Transport Oriented Development (TOD) planning changes coming into effect at more locations.

After consultation with Wollongong, Central Coast and Bayside Councils, agreements have been reached on the precinct boundaries for Dapto, Gosford, Tuggerah, Banksia and Rockdale train stations that will allow for increased building heights and density.

These planning changes will permit the construction of new residential flat buildings and shop top housing and includes mandatory affordable housing provisions for developments with a gross floor area exceeding 2000sqm.

These five stations are in addition to the 18 which had new planning controls introduced in April 2024.

Over the next 15 years, these planning changes will allow for more than 170,000 new homes in mid- rise dwellings with new affordable homes, and apartment buildings that contain commercial space to create vibrant communities close to transport, services and jobs.

These five new precincts also follow the exhibition of the NSW Government’s Accelerated precincts to create up to 60,000 new homes, including up to 6,000 affordable homes, and 100,000 jobs across Hornsby, Kellyville, Bella Vista, Macquarie Park, Bankstown, Crows Nest and Homebush.

These planning reforms are part of the Minns Labor Government’s efforts to confront the housing crisis by reforming the planning system, building more social and affordable housing through the largest ever investment in NSW history and reforming rental laws by banning no-grounds evictions.

Housing is the largest single cost of living issue facing the people of NSW. Without action now, we are at risk of being a city with no young people.

A recent Productivity Commission report found between 2016 and 2021, Sydney lost twice as many people aged 30 to 40 as it gained.

These are the people who open businesses, have families, build our communities and contribute to local economy.

That is not a situation that is tolerable. It means we can’t sit back and do nothing. Details of the planning proposals for these five precincts are:

Dapto

To help meet the five-year Wollongong housing targets of 9,200 new homes, Dapto TOD will join the Corrimal TOD to help deliver more homes for the Wollongong area.

The Dapto TOD perimeter has been extended approximately 800m to the east of the train station to the Southern Freeway, as nominated by Wollongong Council. The relocation of the boundary further to the east will make sure that the intended housing capacity of Dapto can be achieved.

At the same time, the precinct perimeter has been reduced on the western side of the precinct to the train line to avoid flood affected and environmentally sensitive land.

These adjustments will mean that the area could deliver around 3,450 homes over 15 years. 

Gosford

To help meet the Central Coast housing target of 9,400 new homes over five years, nine additional lots are proposed for the Gosford TOD precinct.

Three of the sites are located on the north-western corner of the precinct with another six located on the south-western corner.

The dwelling capacity around Gosford Station is estimated to be 5,850 homes for the precinct over 15 years.

Tuggerah

An additional eight lots are proposed to be included in the Tuggerah TOD precinct to allow for the capacity for significantly more homes in this precinct.

In line with the nominations of Central Coast Council, inclusion of these lots will provide a logical boundary between the TOD precinct and surrounding areas, while also making sure that no isolated sites remain outside the precinct.

The dwelling capacity is estimated to be 1,600 homes for the precinct over 15 years. 

Rockdale and Banksia

In a concerted effort to contribute to the Bayside housing target of 10,100 new homes over five years, the Rockdale and Banksia TOD precincts have been amended in line with council’s submission during consultation. The site will include land between Rockdale and Banksia Train Stations, given how close the stations are to one another.

The Rockdale Precinct has also been extended to the southeast to include an area bordered by Pitt Street, Bay Street and Cameron Streets, as this area was nominated by Bayside Council for possible future development.

The dwelling capacity of the area is estimated to be 11,300 homes over 15 years. 

Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said:

“The NSW Government is committed to confronting the housing crisis head on – and that means making sure we have more homes.

“It’s great to see Councils looking out for their communities and working with us to find ways to provide more homes for every resident, current and future.

“The homes that will result from these rezoning will be well-located close to transport, services and jobs, in existing communities where people want to live.”