Woollahra Council opposes Edgecliff-Woollahra rezoning and calls for staged growth

Woollahra Council has opposed the exhibited Edgecliff-Woollahra State-led Rezoning Proposal, which covers Edgecliff, Woollahra and the wider eastern suburbs, and recommended that the NSW Government not proceed with it.

Council endorsed its submission subject to amendments made at the 30 September meeting. It said the proposal did not demonstrate that its scale and distribution of development uplift were independently evidence-based, appropriately designed, feasible, infrastructure-led or capable of delivering the housing, infrastructure and public benefits cited to support the changes.

The council called for any future rezoning to be delivered through stages rather than as a single broad uplift across the precinct. It also asked the NSW Government to defer additional development capacity until related infrastructure and public-benefit obligations are funded, programmed and legally committed.

Those checks include confirmation of the feasibility, full funding, delivery responsibilities and binding program for Woollahra Station, along with supporting transport, utility, open-space, social and community infrastructure. Council also wants land for public open space, community facilities, roads, pedestrian connections and cycling connections identified, secured, funded and programmed before rezoning is finalised.

The submission draws on technical work covering traffic and transport, urban design, economic impacts, social infrastructure, public open space, heritage, flooding and stormwater, trees and urban greening, biodiversity, climate resilience, affordable housing and emergency services. Council reaffirmed its preference for planning that builds on its Edgecliff Centre Planning and Urban Design Strategy, endorsed in April 2024, and its Housing Strategy.

Council also resolved to ask the NSW Government to work with councils on realistic housing targets consistent with The Sydney Plan, while allowing local councils to use local knowledge when preparing plans to meet them. It will seek support from relevant NSW ministers, neighbouring councils and the City of Sydney for a coordinated planning outcome.

The meeting also recorded a petition from Narelle Ryan containing 70 signatures. It opposed proposed high-rise towers on Quarry Street, Paddington, and asked for the former Paddington Bowling Club site to be preserved as a community park while considering the outlook of residents at 200 Goodwin Village. Tabling the petition did not approve those requests.

Council will submit its amended response to the NSW Government. The state government will determine the next step on the rezoning proposal.