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The NSW government’s heritage advisers have again rejected plans to build office towers above busy rail lines at Central Station, arguing a revised $11 billion proposal would compromise heritage and had ignored low-rise options.
As the government forges ahead with its long-term bid to reshape the southern end of Sydney’s central business district, the Heritage Council of NSW is objecting to updated plans to construct buildings up to 34 storeys on a giant land deck above the station’s regional and intercity platforms.
The state’s transport agency plans to build a deck above the rail lines at Central Station to create more space to develop office towers.Credit: Transport for NSW
Transport for NSW has revealed a host of minor changes to its plan to redevelop 24 hectares around the station with about 15 buildings, a pedestrian avenue, laneways and plazas. The site will form the “western gateway” to its Tech Central jobs and innovation zone from Haymarket to South Eveleigh.
The majority of 368 submissions on the original proposal were negative, citing reservations about heritage impacts, urban design, building heights and scale, wind tunnels, and shadowing.
In response, Transport for NSW this month said its changes included creating more space between the towers, reducing the amount of developed floor space by 10,600 square metres, boosting the amount of public open space by 12 per cent, adding a new civic square near Devonshire Street and tweaking the configuration of a central promenade. The agency also increased the minimum amount of affordable housing from 15 per cent to 30 per cent of residential floor space.
The proposed Central Station redevelopment.Credit: Transport for NSW
Despite the changes, the Heritage Council declared its concerns about “adverse heritage impacts to the Central precinct remain unchanged” in a unanimous resolution at its meeting in November.
In its resolution, the council cluster of mostly office towers forming the over-station development had “not been eliminated from the scheme”.
“The submitted documentation does not provide any indication that low-rise options were explored,” it said.
“The revised gross floor area … does not holistically consider other Tech Central sites but remains to be designed to achieve [maximum] yield.”
The council had previously pushed for the towers above the rail lines to be scrapped for low-rise options. They also worried the buildings would obstruct views of the station’s prominent clock tower.
The NSW government has released revised plans for its $11 billion revamp of 24 hectares in and around Central Station. Credit: NSW government
Council chair Frank Howarth said the government would need to build a certain amount of floor space above the deck, which would be a costly construct, to ensure the redevelopment was financially viable. But he noted office occupancy rates were down in North Sydney and the CBD.
“We question whether the amount of gross floor area they’re proposing to put in can be economically justified post-COVID. We believe Transport for NSW really hasn’t demonstrated that there will be adequate demand for those buildings should they go ahead and build them.”
Howarth said the council, an independent statutory body that advises government on state heritage matters, supported the broader Tech Central project and upgrades to the Sydney Terminal Building.
Transport for NSW has been contacted for comment.
The NSW Department of Planning and Environment will assess the revised rezoning proposal for the precinct before making a recommendation to Planning Minister Paul Scully for final determination.
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