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Green Square Town Centre

Green Square Town Centre will be the commercial, retail and cultural heart where people live, work, shop, dine out, are entertained and enjoy a range of cultural activities.

When the Town Centre is complete, it will have the potential to accommodate approximately 5,850 residents and 9,300 workers, creating a new village hub for the southern areas of the City of Sydney.

The Town Centre will be a highly accessible place, through walking, cycling or public transport. It will provide a range of open spaces including parks and plaza areas which will offer places for relaxation, recreation and venues for community events. Community buildings will be provided including the re-use of the heritage buildings of the former Royal South Sydney Hospital.

The Town Centre will set new benchmarks in public domain design and ecologically sustainable development. As a large scale urban renewal project, the Town Centre will demonstrate that cities can grow in ways that are ‘climate positive’ while still being economically and environmentally sustainable.

Buildings in the Town Centre will be designed and constructed for connection to the Council’s proposed Green Infrastructure trigeneration, non-potable recycled water and automated waste systems.

The Town Centre will play an important role for the City in meeting the objectives of its Sustainable Sydney 2030 program and the NSW Government’s Metropolitan Plan.

A great deal of work has gone into planning Green Square over the last 10 years to ensure it achieves this vision. There are currently three Planning Proposals progressing that relate to the Town Centre. A new Draft Town Centre Development Control Plan and proposals for the naming of streets and parks in the Green Square Urban Renewal Area are also progressing.

For more information:

 

Location of the Town Centre

Click to enlarge

The Green Square Urban Renewal Area is 4.5km south of Central Sydney. The Town Centre is located in Zetland at the intersection of Botany Road, Bourke Street and O'Riordan Street and covers an area of 14 hectares. Its main transport access is from Green Square Railway Station.

Planning controls

The plans for the Town Centre are the result of years of planning, technical investigations, design competitions, design development, community consultation and economic feasibility assessments (see timeline below). The current controls for the Town Centre consist of:

  • South Sydney Local Environmental Plan 1998 (Amendment No.17) - Green Square Town Centre (the Town Centre LEP)
  • South Sydney Development Control Plan 1997: Urban Design - Part H: Green Square Town Centre (the Town Centre DCP)
  • Green Square Town Centre Infrastructure Strategy.

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The current Town Centre LEP

  • Defines land use zones, development sites, building heights, gross floor area,
  • identifies the land required for public domain and development sites and
  • enables high density redevelopment, supported by adequate infrastructure.

Note: The Town Centre LEP is an amendment (No.17) to the South Sydney Local Environmental Plan 1998. The LEP was gazetted on 22 December 2006, however it does not currently operate in respect of land within the Town Centre as the land in the Town Centre is a “deferred matter” under section 68(5) (now section 59) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. The 'un-deferral' is explained in the Infrastructure Strategy section below.

The current Town Centre DCP

  • Supports the primary planning controls set out in the LEP,
  • contains guiding principles and
  • focuses on key considerations for the design of buildings (for example, location of activities, building alignment, sun access, etc) as well as the design of the public domain.

Note: The DCP is an amendment to South Sydney Development Control Plan 1997: Urban Design, known as Part H: Green Square Town Centre (PDF | 2Mb).

The Town Centre Infrastructure Strategy

The plans for the Green Square Town Centre continue to evolve and while external factors will determine the uptake of development, it is assumed that full implementation of the precinct will take more than a decade.

Key items of infrastructure will be required, and are identified in the Green Square Town Centre Infrastructure Strategy (PDF | 923Kb) approved in April 2006. The infrastructure costs and development sites contributions are also identified. These are to be indexed in accordance with the Consumer Price Index (All Groups Sydney).

The Strategy details how the delivery of the infrastructure can take place and recognises that:

  • the identified infrastructure is essential to achieving appropriate public amenity to support higher density development, and
  • land within the Town Centre can only be rezoned as set out in the LEP if the appropriate level of services and public domain can be provided and Council is satisfied that this can occur.

Thus the 'un-deferral' of Town Centre land will only proceed for sites where the infrastructure requirement can be met.

The process of 'un-deferring' or activating land is outlined in the Infrastructure Strategy.

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2010-2011 review of planning controls

The City is reviewing the current Town Centre planning controls to:

  • Incorporate Sustainable Sydney 2030 objectives
  • Apply the results of the Green Square and Southern Areas Retail Study (2008)and other reviews
  • Include the outcomes of development consents granted by Council in November 2008 for the public domain and infrastructure
  • Update the Town Centre infrastructure requirements, and
  • Assess any planning proposals for the Town Centre submitted by landowners.

Planning legislation requires that any amendment to an LEP is to be initiated in the form of a ‘Planning Proposal’. The Department of Planning and Infrastructure considers the Planning Proposal and issues a ‘Gateway Determination’ if the proposal is to proceed. The Gateway Determination sets out requirements for progressing the proposal, including community consultation.

The City is currently processing three Planning Proposals that seek to amend the planning controls for sites within the Town Centre:

  • A Planning Proposal for the sites owned by Landcom and the Green Square Consortium.
  • A Planning Proposal which covers the remaining sites in the Town Centre.
  • A Planning Proposal for 301-303 Botany Road, Waterloo (corner with Bourke Street), which is an amendment to the current Town Centre LEP.

Planning Proposal for 956-960 Bourke Street, 355 Botany Road and 377-497 Botany Road

These three sites cover approximately 40% of the Town Centre, and are owned by Landcom and the Green Square Consortium: a joint venture between Mirvac Projects P/L and Leighton Properties P/L. This Planning Proposal was publicly exhibited from 20 November - 20 December 2010 and, after further changes and review it was re-exhibited from 16 September - 3 October 2011. You can read more about it here

Planning Proposal for the Town Centre

The City has prepared a Planning Proposal that seeks to review the planning controls for the whole Town Centre, excluding the Landcom/Mirvac/Leighton sites described above. On 4 March 2011, the Department of Planning and Infrastructure issued a Gateway Determination, allowing the City to progress the Planning Proposal and place it on public exhibition.

This Planning Proposal is to be reported to Council and the CSPC to be endorsed for public exhibition. You can read the Council officer’s report on the Planning Proposal here.

Planning Proposal: South Sydney LEP 1998 (Amendment No. 21) – 301-303 Botany Road, Zetland (aka John Newell site)

The John Newell site is at the corner of Botany Road and Bourke Street. In July 2011, Council and the CSPC endorsed a Planning Proposal to amend the current Town Centre LEP to change the land use mix permissible on the site. You can read more about the Planning Proposal here.

The landowner has offered to enter into a voluntary Planning Agreement with the City of Sydney to dedicate land for the public domain and contribute to essential infrastructure.

This Agreement was on public exhibition during August and September 2011 and is being finalised before the Planning Proposal and the proposed amendment to the LEP can proceed.

The new Town Centre DCP

To support the LEP controls in the Planning Proposal for the Town Centre, the City is preparing the Draft Town Centre DCP 2011. This DCP is to replace the current Town Centre DCP. Read more about it in the Council officer’s report here.

The Draft Town Centre DCP 2011 utilises the names for the streets and open spaces being considered by Council for public exhibition. Read more about it here.

The Draft City Plan

The City has prepared a draft Local Environmental Plan and draft Development Control Plan for the entire Local Government Area, together known as the ‘City Plan’. The draft City Plan was exhibited from February to April 2011. The outcomes of the public exhibition of the draft City Plan are expected to be reported to Council early in 2012.

The planning controls for the Town Centre are excluded from the draft City Plan. The Planning Proposals for the Town Centre described above will continue to progress separately to the City Plan as stand-alone LEP amendments and will be incorporated into the City Plan at a later date.

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Timeline for the Green Square Town Centre

1990s

Site earmarked by Council and the State Government for the development of a new town centre.

2000

Public exhibition of original Masterplan.

2003

Public exhibition of the Draft LEP, Draft Masterplan and supporting studies. Issues raised in submissions together with further investigations and analysis, contributed to the refinements of the documents exhibited in 2005.

2004

Formation of the Joint Council and Central Sydney Planning Committee Green Square Taskforce, to steer the Town Centre project.

2005

Revised Draft Town Centre LEP (Amendment No.17), DCP and Infrastructure Strategy publicly exhibited.

2006

Town Centre LEP gazetted and DCP and Infrastructure Strategy adopted by Council and the CSPC.

2008

Council approves DAs for the public domain and infrastructure.

Council endorses anamendment to the Town Centre LEP and DCP to allow below ground communal carpark and retail facilities under the public plazas.

2009

The LEP amendment (No.19) to allow below ground parking and retail facilities is gazetted.

Landcom selects the Green Square Consortium comprised of Mirvac Projects P/L and Leighton Properties P/L as its partner for redevelopment of significant sites in the Town Centre.

2010

Council and CSPC resolve to review planning controls for the whole Town Centre and to progress separate Planning Proposals for key sites within the Town Centre.

2011

Planning Proposals for the Landcom / Mirvac / Leighton and John Newell sites are progressed. The Planning Proposal for the Town Centre, which reviews planning controls for the whole Town Centre is considered by Council and the CSPC for public exhibition. A new Draft Town Centre DCP is also considered for public exhibition.

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Downloads

Green Square Town Centre Local Environmental Plan

Green Square Town Centre Infrastructure Strategy

Green Square Town Centre Development Control Plan

For more information

Lila Contziu
Manger Green Square & Major Development Projects Manager
Tel: 02 9246 7569
Email: lcontziu@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au

John Davies
Specialist Planner
Tel: 02 9265 9873
Email: jodavies@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au

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Last Updated: Tuesday 8 November, 2011

Please Note:
While care is taken to ensure accuracy, the City of Sydney cannot guarantee that information expressed here is correct and recommends that users exercise their own skill and care with respect to its use. The City of Sydney makes no warranty or undertaking, whether expressed or implied, nor does it assume any legal liability, whether direct or indirect.