We completed Plans for our Strategic Centres, Bankstown and Campsie, and Council is also in progress to deliver Plans for our local centres - Belmore, Lakemba, Canterbury (also announced as TOD Precincts) as well as Belfield.

The next two centres that Council will plan for are Punchbowl and Wiley Park. This decision aligns with the Council’s Local Housing Strategy, which identifies these areas as the next priorities for development and growth.

Providing Plans for these centres are an essential part of managing change while preserving character. If we plan for these things now, with good urban design principles and a clear strategy for growth we can ensure that Punchbowl and Wiley Park continue to be a place with the right balance of community, business, growth and culture. Without a Plan, growth occurs in an uncoordinated way.

The aim of a Precinct Plan is to improve the quality of development, ensure local businesses have the conditions to thrive, and create places the community can be proud of. The Plan will provide Council with a strong strategic basis to reject ad-hoc proposals that do not align with Council’s planning controls.

The Plan will improve the look and feel of the centres by:

• Raising the design standards of new buildings;
• Improving the quality of the public domain;
• Improving the way waste is managed and collected;
• Enhancing open spaces and increase tree canopy; and
• Celebrating heritage and character.

The TOD Program is an NSW Government initiative to create more housing across NSW and encourage new homes to be built near metro and rail stations. The NSW Government has identified 39 stations across NSW, including Bankstown, Canterbury, Belmore, Lakemba, Punchbowl and Wiley Park. The Program applies new planning controls to areas within 400m of these stations which will allow mid- and high-rise housing, such as apartment buildings and shop top housing to be built. The Program also amends key development standards for these types of mid- and high-rise housing, including maximum building heights, floor space ratios and minimum frontages. For more information see the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure website here.

The proposed Low to Mid Rise Housing Program was announced alongside the TOD Program in December 2023, proposing blanket density controls within 800 metres of railway stations and town centres right across the Greater Sydney. These changes would allow for apartment development for any site within the 800m zone, including where apartments are currently prohibited. It would allow for apartment buildings of up to 4-6 storeys.

The NSW Government is proposing a ‘one-size fits all’ approach, contrary to Council’s principles of good planning and design and community consultation. The timing for the delivery of the Precinct Plan has been shortened, and minimum dwelling targets have been introduced for Punchbowl and Wiley Park. However, Council is seeking to deliver a Precinct Plan for these centres to focus on our local planning aspirations, with the TOD Program being secondary.

Feedback from early engagement activities will be used to understand what people like about the centres as well as some of the challenges facing the community and local businesses. The interactive map gives us insight into the local community’s aspirations for Punchbowl and Wiley Park, which can be reflected in the final Precinct Plan.

Once it is ready, Council will exhibit the Precinct Plan, allowing the community to provide feedback and further refine the Plan.

No. The early engagement phase is focused on gathering ideas from the community to help develop the draft Plan alongside a range of technical studies. The next round of engagement will be seeking feedback on the draft Precinct Plan.

In May 2024, the NSW Government began implementing these TOD Program changes, which override local regulations. For precincts where councils were already undertaking local planning work, the NSW Government set timeframes for completion of this work. For Punchbowl and Wiley Park the mandated deadline is June 2025.

The NSW Government has stated that if Council’s planning for Punchbowl and Wiley Park is not completed by the deadline, the planning controls described above would be implemented and remain in effect until local planning is finalised.

In response, Council has revised its approach to planning Punchbowl and Wiley Park.

If supported by Council, staff will work with the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure to implement the proposed changes to planning controls in Punchbowl and Wiley Park.

If the alternative approach is adopted, Council will, at a later stage, use its Plan to amend the Development Control Plan and Local Infrastructure Contributions Plan. More detailed public domain planning will be carried out in these centres, with community engagement playing a key part of this process.