The NSW Government has announced completion of the long derelict Woollahra Station and an associated rezoning of land around the station, in line with rezoning applied to other designated stations. This is causing concern and uncertainty throughout the Woollahra area, particularly in those streets most likely to be impacted. Based on the limited available information, the Queen Street & West Woollahra Association’s welcomes a new station in principle, but that any decisions about rezoning need to be made with the NSW Government working together with Woollahra Council and local communities to develop a solution that meets the objectives of all parties. That is a strategy that allows housing growth and increased density in agreed areas while preserving the heritage and essence of Woollahra, the village atmosphere, which is why people want to live here in the first place.

Further details on this position are set out below (please note that when referring to Woollahra, it is the suburb/postcode being referenced, not the LGA):

Woollahra Station

In principle, the QSWWA welcomes a new station for Woollahra. There is limited site access and very limited parking, but a good design may be able to overcome these. The Association does note that the area is already generally well served by public transport with the 389 bus going through Woollahra and the 333 going down Oxford Street. Bondi Junction and Edgecliff Stations are 10 minutes walk away from the centre of Woollahra and the new station would still be 6 minutes away, so we presume the case for the station is all to do with housing rather than increasing the public transport amenity of the suburb.

Building Affordable Housing above the Woollahra Station

If the NSW Government was serious about affordable housing, it would build above the Woollahra Station and commit to it being 100% affordable housing. Subject to a sensible hight limit consistent with the surrounding buildings, the QSWWA would support this. As the owners of the land, this is something the Government could clearly implement but their position at the moment is that they have no plans for any construction on the site other than the station.

Broader Rezoning Issues:

The QSWWA has four major issues around broad-brush rezoning around the proposed station without careful design and consultation with the Woollahra Council and local communities:

1. Unrealistic targets – Assuming an average of two people per household, a target of 10,000 additional dwellings is 20,000 additional people. That is approximately the current total number of people living in Woollahra, Edgecliff, Double Bay and Darling Point postcodes combined. That would mean doubling the population across an area which already has 77% medium or high-density housing – a recipe for disaster!
2. Failure to solve the housing and housing affordability crisis – Building expensive apartments for well-heeled people won’t solve the housing affordability crisis for young people in the eastern suburbs. There is currently a very nice 3-bedroom apartment in the James Street development at around $8 million. The cheapest in that development was around $5 million. Letting developers build whatever they like will only a small number reserved for affordable housing won’t help the less well off.
3. Preserving our heritage – Woollahra contains a mixture of high-density areas and heritage conservation areas. Much has been made of Sydney becoming a “City of Villages”. Key to Woollahra continuing to be a village within Sydney is preserving the heritage buildings which contain so much history and link us with the generations that came before. Any rezoning has to be very careful to preserve this heritage, not simply be 400m and 800m radius circles around Woollahra Station.
4. Lack of infrastructure – statements that there is underutilised capacity in schools in Woollahra just isn’t true. Woollahra Public School is at capacity and there isn’t a senior school at all in the area. Doubling the population requires double the infrastructure – schools, roads, hospitals etc. There needs to be a proper infrastructure plan and commitment for investment to accommodate the additional population or the current situation will simply get worse.

Conclusion

The Queen Street & West Woollahra Association’s welcomes a new station in principle, but that any decisions about rezoning need to be made with the NSW Government working together with Woollahra Council and local communities to develop a solution that meets the objectives of all parties. That is a strategy that allows housing growth and increased density in agreed areas while preserving the heritage, history and character of the area.

Estimated Population Data (source idcommunity for 2024)

Woollahra                                      7,489

Edgecliff                                         2,628

Double Bay-Point Piper          6,175

Darling Point                                 4,118