10,000 New Homes and Train Station Planned for Wealthy Eastern Sydney Suburb

The New South Wales (NSW) Labor government is planning to build 10,000 new homes and a train station in Sydney’s affluent eastern suburb of Woollahra.

The land will be rezoned at both the Woollahra and Edgecliff stations, located in the Liberal electorate of Vaucluse. The new development will include affordable housing.

The new Woollahra station will be on the Bondi Junction train line and enable commuters to travel to the city in Sydney within 8 minutes. In the 1970s, work started on a new Woollahra station, but the project was abandoned due to local opposition.

The government cited a NSW Productivity Commission report warning Sydney lost twice as many people aged 30 to 40 as it gained between 2016 and 2021.

Premier Chris Minns said Western Sydney had been bearing the brunt of new homes.

“We are delivering on our promise to rebalance the delivery of new housing from the West of Sydney that has accepted the overwhelming number of new homes without infrastructure, towards the East and North of Sydney where there is existing infrastructure,” he said.

“For too long, young people and families in NSW have been forced to choose between moving away from the Sydney CBD or not being able to afford a home at all.

“This new train station will allow us to deliver up to ten thousand new homes right here in the heart of Sydney, close to jobs, public transport, green space and essential services.”

Housing Minister Determined to Take on NIMBY’s

Minns Housing Minister Rose Jackson expressed determination to take on those with a “Not in My Back Yard (NIMBY)” view.

“We are not afraid to take on NIMBYs to deliver more housing where there is the space and infrastructure to support it. This new station just makes sense,” she said.

The final number of affordable housing units that will be included in the new development will be decided during the rezoning process.

The government argued the Bondi Junction to Sydney train line had the lowest passenger usage during peak times of any Sydney network, at only 43 percent capacity.

Housing approvals in Woollahra have declined by 11 percent in the last 50 years in contrast to the 74 percent rise across Greater Sydney.

MP Not Given a Phone Call

Liberal Member for Vaucluse Kellie Sloane said the ambition of 10,000 new homes seemed “fanciful.”

“That’s the equivalent of around 95 new 21-storey towers. This in a suburb that already has 80 percent medium to high density,” she said on X.

She also claimed the minister did not notify her of the government’s plans.

“As the local member, I have not been given the courtesy of even a phone call from the minister about this significant change to our community,” she said.

Sloane said there was a need for more government funds towards the schools in the area to accommodate the planned growth.

“The local Woollahra Public School is already at capacity. Rose Bay Secondary will be stretched by this as well as LMR reforms,” she said.

Minister for Planning Paul Scully said completing Woollahra train station would help keep the government on track to rebalance Sydney’s housing growth and deal with the state’s housing challenges.

The government also said Sydney Water and Infrastructure NSW had confirmed there was enough capacity and wastewater management to handle 10,000 new apartments without major upgrades. The rezoning will take an estimated two years.

Transport Minister John Graham credited the foresight of former Labor Premier Neville Wran for including a station at Woollahra when the eastern suburbs train line was completed under his government.

“That future has now arrived, and will deliver housing and transport close to Sydney’s Central Business District (CBD),” he said.

“We look forward to working with the local community to provide an accessible station that complements active transport and other transport connections.”