Liverpool rezoned and earmarked as becoming Sydney's third largest CBD
Much like Parramatta, Liverpool will become another satellite CBD for the Harbour City, having been rezoned by the State's Planning Minister.
Anthony Roberts has officially announced the rezoning of 25 hectares in and around Liverpool that will further entice development to the locality. Already no stranger to high-rise residential development in Liverpool's fringe, the passage of higher density and mixed-use applications for the heart of the suburb will be made all the more easier under the rezoning.
The move comes as both the State Government and Liverpool Council seek to attract additional commercial and residential activity to the expanding hub. Liverpool's core stands to gain bigger developments under the rezoning, but also increased ground floor uses such as cafes, bars, restaurants and retail.
I am pleased to announce this plan which will transform Liverpool’s commercial areas and unlock the city’s potential as a thriving and well-connected place to live, work and play.
Changes to the Local Environmental Plan (LEP) will open the door for Liverpool to fulfil its potential as the next significant city centre in Sydney. Liverpool’s transformation has the potential to be enjoyed by locals and international visitors, with the city centre being on the doorstep of the future Western Sydney Airport.
The rezoning enables increased building heights for selected key sites and will ensure people have easy access to public transport, the city campuses of both Western Sydney University and University of Wollongong and Liverpool Hospital’s $740 million redevelopment.
Planning Minister Anthony Roberts
The rezoning's positive aspects have been lauded by the Planning Minister, Liverpool City Council Mayor Wendy Waller and Urban Taskforce Australia's Chris Johnson.
Not content with Liverpool's emergence behind Sydney's heart and Parramatta as true Central Business Districts, Chris Johnson insists that rezoning should be applied to other suitable suburban Sydney locations.
The announcement by NSW Planning Minister, Anthony Roberts, that the Liverpool city centre has been rezoned for mixed-use is a good model for all centres across Sydney, says the Urban Taskforce. The 25 hectare city centre in Liverpool is now planning to house 10,000 new homes and 22,000 new jobs as a result of the change from commercial only zoning to mixed-use zoning.
The Urban Taskforce has been critical of the zoning of strategic centres as outlined in the Greater Sydney Commission’s District Plans that did not support mixed-use zoning but preferred separate zones for housing and for jobs. Most cities in the world are moving away from restrictive single use zoning towards a mixed-use approach that gives incentives to ensure a viable mixture of uses related to market needs.
The Liverpool model is following this approach.
A similar approach to mixed zoning should be considered for city centres like North Sydney, St Leonards, Chatswood, and Parramatta. Each of these city centres needs the vitalisation that comes from people living, working and shopping in an urban centre.
Urban Taskforce CEO Chris Johnson
Liverpool already has a substantial presence in the Urban.com.au Project Database, and this is set to grow once rezoning is ratified. The rezoning is as much about changing the balance of uses within any given development as it is about realising larger developments.
Prime developments come in the form of 277 Bigge Street which was recently profiled by Urban.com.au. It involves the construction of a purely commercial tower containing in excess of 27,000 square metres of Gross Floor Area.
Also fresh to Liverpool is an application looking for the realisation of a residential tower at 402 Macquarie Street for developer Kingdom Towers. Spanning 17 levels and designed by GCCV, the applications includes 145 apartments.
To date Liverpool has 31 predominantly residential projects listed within the Urban.com.au Project Database.
