Planning Proposal for Melrose Park South

The Planning Proposal was finalised on 16 December 2022.

Project update

Council resolved to endorse the Planning Proposal, site-specific DCP and Planning Agreement at its meeting on 12 December 2022. To view the Minutes from this meeting, please visit Council’s Business Paper page. The Planning Proposal was forwarded to the Department of Planning and Environment for finalisation.

The Planning Proposal was finalised by the Department of Planning on 16 December 2022 as Amendment 67 to the Parramatta LEP 2011 (now Parramatta LEP 2023). Amendment 67 contains a deferred commence clause. When the Amendment comes into effect in June 2024, the site-specific DCP for Melrose Park South will be included within Section 8 of the Parramatta DCP 2023.

Further information

Please visit the Melrose Park Precinct page on Council’s website for information on all active projects in Melrose Park.Click here.

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Project History

Background

The Melrose Park Precinct is on the eastern edge of the City of Parramatta Council Local Government Area (LGA) and is in the process of transforming from an industrial area to one that will provide for mixed use development including high density residential, open space and retail/commercial uses.

Planning for the redevelopment of this precinct began in 2016 when Council endorsed the Parramatta Employment Lands Strategy which identifies this precinct as being suitable for non-industrial development. As a result, Council has received planning proposal applications to rezone various sites within the precinct to allow non-industrial uses.

The planning process for the sites commenced in 2016 as part of the preparation of the Southern Structure Plan. The Planning Proposal process for these sites formally commenced in 2020.

See the timeline section on the page for a full timeline of the planning process to date. To reach this stage, extensive consultation between the landowners, Council and various State Government agencies has taken place to help ensure the best possible outcome is achieved for the two sites and broader southern precinct.


Summary of Proposal

To facilitate the change of Melrose Park South into a mixed-use precinct, Council exhibited a Planning Proposal, draft Site-Specific Development Control Plan (DCP) and Planning Agreement for two sites in Melrose Park South from 25 August 2022 to 21 September 2022. It applies to 112 Wharf Road, 30-32 Waratah Street, and 82 Hughes Avenue in Melrose Park South.

The Planning Proposal provides detail of the proposed changes to the planning controls on the site such as land use zones, building heights and floor space ratios.

The draft DCP provides detailed planning and design guidelines such as floor space allocations across the site, open space requirements, building setbacks and stormwater management.

The Planning Agreement with the landownwer Holdmark makes provision for the delivery of community infrastructure needed to support the proposed redevelopment and has a value of over $37 million. The Planning Agreement was executed in early 2023 and includes the following items:

  • Affordable rental housing (24 units with a minimum of 34 bedrooms) dedicaed to Council in perpetuity ($16,169,411).
  • Affordable rental housing (24 units with a minimum of 34 bedrooms) dedicated to Council in perpetuity ($16,169,411).

The Agreement also includes that development contributions will be paid in accordance with the City of Parramatta Council Section 94A Development Contributions Plan (Amendment No 5) 2017.

The Planning Proposal applies to two (2) separate sites owned by the applicant in the southern precinct that have been combined into one Planning Proposal to allow a more streamlined approach to the planning process. The two sites are as follows:

  • East Site: 112 Wharf Road and 30 & 32 Waratah Street, Melrose Park
  • West Site: 82 Hughes Avenue, Ermington

The proposed development schemes on these sites reflects the intended vision for the southern precinct as identified in the Southern Structure Plan.

Below is a summary of the proposed changes to the planning controls applicable to the sites:

 

EAST SITE

WEST SITE

 

112 Wharf Road

30 Waratah Street

32 Waratah Street

82 Hughes Avenue

Current Zone

IN1 General Industrial

Proposed Zone

Part R4 High Density Residential, part RE1 Public Recreation

RE1 Public Recreation

Part R4 High Density Residential, part RE1 Public Recreation

Part R4 High Density Residential, part RE1 Public Recreation

Current FSR

1:1

1:1

Proposed FSR (gross)

1.66:1

1.78:1

Proposed FSR (net)

2.46:1

2.74:1

Current height limit

12m

12m

Proposed Heights

Ranging between 6 storeys (25m), 8 storeys (34m), 20 storeys (68m) and 22 storeys (77m)

Potential dwelling yield per site

835 units

1,090 units

Total potential dwelling yield

1,925

Non-residential floor space component

500m2

500m2

 

The draft Planning Agreement with the applicant has a value of over $37 million and will help deliver local community infrastructure within and outside the precinct. The applicant (and other landowners in the precinct) will also be entering into a separate Planning Agreement with the NSW State Government to help fund and deliver State infrastructure items. This agreement is being coordinated by the NSW State Government and will be exhibited by them at a later date. A summary of the local Planning Agreement with the applicant is provided below and all documents can be found in the Exhibition Material section.

No

  Item

Contribution Value

1.

Affordable rental housing (24 units with a minimum of 34 bedrooms) dedicated to Council in perpetuity.

$16,169,411

2.

Dedication of land to be used as public open space to Council at no cost. Embellishment of new public open space to Council’s requirements with a 50% offset* included in the Planning Agreement for the cost of works.

$21,077,414

3.

Delivery of cycleways and new roads with a 50% offset* for the cost of works included in the Planning Agreement.

 

TOTAL VALUE OF OFFER

$37,246,825

Per Unit Contribution

$19,349

 

*A 50% offset is included in the Planning Agreement as an acknowledgement by Council that the subject works will benefit the broader community and not just the residents within the development. It means that half of the identified cost of delivering this infrastructure is offset by Council and half is offset by the developer.

Public exhibition period now closed

Thank you for your feedback on the planning proposal, draft site-specific DCP, and planning agreement for two sites in Melrose Park South.

The public exhibition period closed at 5pm on Wednesday 21 September 2022.

The Planning Proposal was finalised on 16 December 2022.