A suburb of 20,000 homes could be built around Rosehill without the need to close the western Sydney racecourse, a peak industry body representing 500 developers has told an inquiry into the controversial sell-off proposal.
The Urban Development Institute of Australia NSW (UDIA) put a written submission to the Select Committee on the Proposal to Develop Rosehill Racecourse, saying the proposed MetroWest station and a large-scale suburban development can progress without the need to sell off the racecourse.
UDIA NSW has urged the Minns government to commit to delivering a new Metro rail station at Rosehill-Camellia regardless of the outcome of the Australian Turf Club’s proposal to utilise the current racecourse land as a centrepiece of a new suburb for 25,000 dwellings.
That unsolicited proposal, which has progressed to the second stage of the approval process with the NSW government but which the ATC says is contingent on a member vote, is the subject of an Upper House inquiry, which held its first public hearings last week.
The UDIA NSW submission is authored by its chief executive Stuart Ayres, a former member of parliament, who served as a minister in several portfolios in the previous Liberal government, including Minister For Western Sydney.
Ayres said the existing Rosehill-Camellia Place strategy has already identified the precinct's capacity to support up to 10,000 new homes, utilising a planned light stop at Camellia.
UDIA’s projections indicate that capacity could be doubled with the delivery of a metro station.
“UDIA has been able to confirm the delivery of a Metro Station at Rosehill-Camellia could support the delivery of up to 20,000 new homes and more than 10,000 jobs in a next generation Transport Oriented Development mini-city,” the submission said.
“This mini city would utilise existing private landholdings and would not require the use of lands owned by the Australian Turf Club at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse. This volume of new housing and resultant population would underpin the feasibility of a new Metro Station at Rosehill-Camellia, without the need to use the Rosehill Gardens site. “
Bren O’Brien
Significantly, UDIA NSW said the capacity could be boosted to 30,000 dwellings, beyond the ATC existing proposal for 25,000, with the further inclusion of carparks and non-racing areas and the use of three to four additional private landholdings east of Rosehill Gardens.
The UDIA plan would allow the Minns Government to achieve its housing targets for the region without the closure of Rosehill.
The submission said UDIA NSW does not have a view about the merits of relocating racing from Rosehill Gardens or the process submitted by the ATC.
“We believe it is important the Committee and wider community is aware of underlying housing potential of the Rosehill-Camelia precinct which could be unlocked regardless of if the proposal succeeds or not and the need for the investment in a metro station in the precinct to achieve this outcome,” the submission read.
“This investment should not be linked to the success or otherwise of the Unsolicited Proposal; without it the future of this precinct to deliver a once-in-a-generation urban renewal process will be lost.”
UDIA is advocating for two Metro stations to be built in the 7km gap between Olympic Park and Parramatta along the proposed Metro West alignment. It sees a station at Rosehill as necessary.
Bren O’Brien
“At 1.6km from Parramatta, it provides the ideal location for Parramatta’s medium-term growth and the opportunity to really extend the River City exposure, the submission read.
“It does not extend the length of the tunnel, avoids the need for an evacuation safety exit because of the current 7km distance to Homebush and it will alleviate demand pressures at Parramatta.”
