Land & CommunitiesLindsay SaundersMon 25 May 26
State Charges New Body with Delivery of Bays West Precinct
The NSW Government has established the Bays West Delivery Authority to lead the development of the Bays West Precinct and Blackwattle Bay Precinct.
The authority will oversee the creation of Sydney’s newest precinct as a connected and sustainable hub centred on White Bay Power Station as its cultural heart, according to the state.
Its vision is to build on the area’s natural, cultural and industrial history to shape a vibrant new neighbourhood.
The precinct is expected to deliver up to 8500 homes, including a minimum 10 per cent as affordable and essential worker housing.
The project will combine housing with public open space, open waterfront access to the public for the first time in more than 100 years and retain deep-water facilities supporting Sydney’s working harbour.
Minutes from the Sydney CBD and connected to metro, ferry, walking and cycling links, the precinct is intended to rebalance housing growth towards well-serviced inner-city locations and help address the state’s housing crisis.
The Bays West Delivery Authority, an agency within the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, will report to NSW Minister for Lands and Property Steve Kamper, who already oversees major renewal projects at Blackwattle Bay and Barangaroo.
As part of the broader transformation, the government confirmed a proposal from Lendlease to redevelop part of the Bays West precinct had progressed to Stage 2 of the NSW Government’s unsolicited proposals process.
The government has also confirmed the Bays West precinct will receive a new suburb name that will encompass the area currently referred to as Bays West, including Glebe Island and the White Bay Power Station.
Serviced by a new Metro station five minutes from the Sydney CBD, the suburb is expected to become one of the most populous in Sydney’s Inner West and one of the city’s premier cultural destinations.
The authority is also progressing an early works program that includes the first stages of an international design competition.
The Bays West International Design Competition “aims to embed design excellence into the project from the outset and deliver an urban framework defining the character, ambition and long-term identity of the former industrial precinct”, the state said.
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The competition will be led by the Bays West Delivery Authority in partnership with Government Architect NSW.
It will begin with a global expressions-of-interest process before progressing to an invitation-only stage assessed by a panel that will advise cabinet on the winning proposal.
The successful design team will continue to play a role in the precinct’s ongoing development.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said the establishment of the authority “is the first step in transforming the Bays West precinct into a vibrant, liveable suburb minutes from the Sydney CBD and two stops from Hunter St Station on the Metro West line”.
“The authority will deliver well-located homes close to the heart of the city and integrate the new precinct with Blackwattle Bay and the new Sydney Fish Market.
“This is a generational opportunity to build a new suburb on the city’s edge and open the harbour foreshore to the public for the first time in a century.”
Kamper said the Bays West Delivery Authority would “turbocharge the development of Sydney’s newest suburb”.
He said the authority was “working at a record pace to deliver an international design competition, planning pathways and a financial model so that this development benefits Sydney with well-designed homes in a central location, close to public transport, jobs, entertainment and essential services”.
“If we want Sydney to stay liveable and affordable, we need to be bold about using underutilised government-owned land to deliver homes for the future while making sure essential working harbour functions can be accommodated,” Kamper said.
