Latest news
April 2012
Following extensive consultation by the City with local residents, businesses and developers to balance differing needs and interests, new planning controls are in place for Harold Park. The new planning controls will:
- allow for 1,250 new homes that are close to the light rail;
- minimise the visual impact on the Glebe community by ensuring building heights do not exceed the height of buildings above the nearby cliffs;
- control the amount of retail space to match supporting road and transport infrastructure; and
- result in almost two kilometres of paths for walking and bike riding that will connect the site to existing and new parklands and local shops.
A planning agreement will also deliver more than one third of formerly private land to the public to create new parks and open spaces. Land for affordable housing will also be delivered, as well as space in the tramshed for community uses, and $8 million in developer contributions.
Demolition is almost complete and the City is now assessing a Stage 1 development application for the site and two Stage 2 development applications. Following assessment, City officers will prepare a report with recommendations to the Central Sydney Planning Committee, which is the consent authority for the applications.
The community will continue to have the opportunity to comment as further development applications are made to Council. If you would like to be notified as additional development applications are lodged, you can register your details at www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/subscribe/
February 2011
On 10 and 14 February 2011 the Central Sydney Planning Committee and Council respectively endorsed the proposed planning controls for Harold Park. Once the Planning Agreement is signed by both Council and the site’s owner, the Planning Proposal will be forwarded to the Department of Planning and the Minister requesting that the local environmental plan be made. The DCP and Planning Agreement will come into force when the local environmental plan is made.
The urban renewal of the site will create 3.8 hectares of new public parkland, approximately 1250 new homes, up to 500 new jobs and almost 2km of cycleways. It will conserve the heritage Rozelle Tram Depot, be an example of best practice sustainable development and provide for affordable housing and community facilities on site.
The next stage is for the proponent to submit development applications for various stages of the development. Residents will have the opportunity to comment of development applications when they are exhibited.
Development applications are notified here. Read about Council’s adoption of the planning controls here.
December 2010
Thank you to everyone who provided submissions during our public exhibition of the Harold Park planning controls. The exhibition is now closed and our planners are hard at work reviewing comments to be incorporated into the final planning documents.
The City will keep this website and submitters up-to-date with Council and CSPC meeting dates once the reports and agendas have been prepared.
November 2010
The draft planning controls and draft planning agreement for
Harold Park and the former Rozelle Tram Depot site are now on public exhibition and you are invited to make a submission.
This exhibition marks a major milestone in planning for the future of this vital urban renewal site.
The planning documents have been developed in consultation with the community and the site’s
owner, and aim to balance the need to redevelop the site while providing important public open
space, building affordable housing and protecting the Tram Sheds.
Our planning team will be available to answer your questions on the planning controls for the site at the Glebe Library and Customer Service Centre, 186 Glebe Point Road, Glebe, on Wednesday 24 November 2010 from 5pm to 7pm and on Saturday 27 November 2010 from 10am to 12 noon.
September 2010
At its meeting of 24 September 2010, Council resolved to proceed to public exhibition of the draft planning controls, subject to receiving a written offer from the site's owner to enter into a planning agreement, including certain "key terms". The City received a written offer from the site’s owner accordingly on 27 September 2010 agreeing to its "key terms", which are to be included in the Draft Planning Agreement.
The "key terms" are as follows:
- Maximum floor space ratio of 1.25:1 across the entire site
- Dedication of 3.8 hectares (35 per cent of the site) of public open space, free of cost to Council
- Dedication of 1,000 square metres of land, free of cost to Council, for affordable housing that is sufficient to construct at least 50 affordable housing units
- Dedication of 500 square metres of floor space within the tram sheds for community uses, free of cost to Council
- Payment of $8M in development contributions; and
- Essential infrastructure on the site to be provided by the developer at no cost to Council including roads, pedestrian pathways and drainage works.
The draft planning agreement is still being prepared, including the preparation of "detailed terms". The resolutions of both Council and the CSPC require the draft planning agreement to be exhibited concurrently with the Planning Proposal and Draft DCP for the site.
This is a significant milestone in the planning process and one that successfully incorporates much of the feedback received from the community on the future of Harold Park.
2 August 2010
At their 26 July meeting, Council resolved to endorse the draft planning controls for Harold Park for public exhibition, subject to an offer of a planning agreement from the site owner. Together, the draft planning controls and a planning agreement will provide 3.9 hectares of public open space, a dedication of land for affordable housing, and dedication of space within the Tram Sheds for community use.
Before the draft planning controls can be placed on public exhibition, the City needs to receive an acceptable offer for a planning agreement from the site owner and then have the Department of Planning approve the form of the Planning Proposal. As soon as the exhibition is confirmed, the City will contact the community with dates and opportunities to comment.
Read the report to the CSPC and the minutes from the Council resolution.
20 July 2010
The draft planning proposals for Harold Park have now been presented to the Planning, Development and Transport Committee. Thank you to the speakers who joined the meeting and presented their views.
Our next step is to present the draft proposals to the Central Sydney Planning Committee. A copy of the meeting agenda is here and as this is a public meeting you are welcome to attend.
If you wish to speak at the CSPC meeting, please register with Council's Secretariat Unit by phoning 9265 9190 by no later than 12:00 midday on Thursday 22 July 2010. Please read the online guidelines for speakers at Committee meetings.
16 July 2010
Following community feedback and the results from our technical studies, our planning team has now developed draft planning controls for the rezoning of the site.
As the next step in the planning process, these draft planning controls will be considered by the Planning, Development and Transport Committee. This will happen at their next meeting on Monday, 19 July 2010 and as this is a public meeting you are welcome to attend. The meeting is scheduled to start at 4:30pm in the Council Chamber of Sydney Town Hall and the draft planning controls for Harold Park will be considered after 6pm.
A copy of the meeting agenda and a detailed report on the new planning controls is available in hard copy from your local Council service centre and online.
If you wish to speak at the Committee Meeting, please read the online guidelines speakers at Committee meetings.
Following this Committee meeting the report will then go to the Central Sydney Planning Committee and Council and also needs to be approved by the Minister of Planning before it can go on public exhibition. We will keep you updated on these steps as dates are confirmed.
11 May 2010
At Monday’s meeting, Council unanimously endorsed a resolution to explore whether planning controls for Harold Park could include provisions to protect and restore the heritage trams. The Harold Park Tram Sheds currently store 6 historic trams, including the last tram to run on the original Sydney tramway system. The trams have rapidly deteriorated and have been vandalised, with no one organisation taking on the responsibility to repair them.
Council will investigate the options and costs associated with the restoration and relocation, and begin discussions with local volunteers who might want to assist. To see footage of the last tram to run in Sydney in 1961 visit the Dictionary of Sydney website www.dictionaryofsydney.org/video/19048
