‘I am ready for it’: The legal bid to derail Woollahra Station revival

A plan to revive the half-built Woollahra Station into a transport and housing hub could be derailed before a single train arrives as the NSW government faces a potential legal challenge to the high-rise proposal.

Woollahra councillors have unanimously voted for the council to obtain legal advice on avenues to challenge the government’s plans to complete the half-built 1970s train station and rezone land around it for up to 10,000 new homes.

NSW Premier Chris Minns – in announcing the project last week – said it would help address Sydney’s housing shortage by “rebalancing growth” from Sydney’s west towards the east.

But during a fiery 4½-hour council meeting this week, Woollahra councillors lined up to voice their opposition to the plans, which could allow housing towers up to 21 storeys high to be built around the redeveloped station.

Mayor Sarah Dixson brandished the proposal as a desperate move that would “hand a blank cheque to developers” and decimate Woollahra’s tree canopy, heritage and character.

Dixson said it was prudent for the council to consider what legal avenues it may have to challenge the scale of a proposal she fears could triple the population in one of the city’s most densely populated areas.

A legal challenge in Woollahra could follow a similar move by Ku-ring-gai Council, which took the NSW government to court to fight its transport-oriented development planning reforms. Further hearings in that case are scheduled for November.

Dixson said Woollahra Council’s concerns included a lack of strategic planning and details over the affordability of new homes in the rezoned precinct, and an absence of community consultation.

“I understand the government is looking for a plan B after its failed Rosehill project, but this seems desperately rushed with no thought given to the impact on existing traffic congestion, infrastructure, hospitals, schools, potential tree canopy loss and parking – all with a total disregard for the community or character of our area,” she said.

The fully developed station would be located on the eastern suburbs line between Edgecliff and Bondi Junction, where a station was partially constructed in the 1970s.

Since the plan was announced last week, it has continued to make headlines as multiple NSW government ministers took to radio and public forums to spruik the government’s vision for the precinct.

In one such speech, Minns said the delivery of new homes in Woollahra could address a worrying trend of young people and essential workers being priced out of the area due to the suburb’s sky-high housing costs.

He backed up the commentary with population figures showing that over the past 50 years, the population of Greater Sydney has grown by 74 per cent while Woollahra’s population has declined by 10 per cent.

“So there are fewer people living in Woollahra today than there were in 1970, which is a window into a culture we’re trying to stop or change in NSW,” he said.

Dixson has questioned the affordability of 10,000 future homes in a part of Sydney where the average price of a two-bedroom unit is $2 million.

“Premier Minns needs to do his homework to make sure the numbers stack up more for young renters and home owners than they do for developers. Otherwise, the only train tickets being purchased from this station will be one way out of Sydney,” she said.

Woollahra, three kilometres from the CBD, was supposed to have a stop on the eastern suburbs rail line until backlash from residents led the government to abandon the project.

The government has pledged to commence construction on the station in 2027, with works to be completed by 2029. The rezoning process is also expected to take about two years.

Dixson said she has sent requests to NSW Planning Minister Paul Scully for an urgent meeting to outline the council’s concerns with the proposal as well as “securing a seat at the planning table”.

Speaking at a council meeting this week, Dixson said she was not dismayed by public comments made by Scully in which he questioned Woollahra’s commitment to delivering new homes to address the city’s demands.

“I’m not afraid of the names Minister Scully may call me – I have a few names I might say in private myself of the minister,” she said. “It’s no issue in my mind if this is how he wishes to play this game because I am ready for it just as much as we are as a community.”

Scully’s response to a possible legal challenge by the council: “Spending ratepayers’ money on lawyers to stop people moving into your area? That is just ridiculous.

“But nothing should be surprising from a council whose housing policies have put more pressure on other areas and led to their population declining 11 per cent over the last 50 years.”

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