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The final piece of the puzzle for Riverstone East in Sydney’s north-west is in place, clearing the way for up to 3600 homes.
Riverstone East was released in three stages, the first two in 2016 and the third this month.
The Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure exhibited the Stage 3 draft plan from February to March of 2024 with an indicative draft layout plan.
The plan includes legislative amendments to the State Environmental Planning Policy (Precincts—Central River City) 2021 for the development of up to 3600 homes on “flood-free land”.
Five per cent is allocated to affordable housing.
It allows low, medium and high-density residential to be developed; Blacktown City Council is the consent authority.
Riverstone East Stage 3 will have transport links, two community centres and up to 48ha of green space.
The 378ha plan allows for free-standing homes, duplexes and apartments. All will be required to meet BASIX requirements for energy, heating and cooling, water and emission provisions.
It will also require roof materials to have a solar absorptance rating of 0.64 or less to mitigate urban heat island effects.
Discussions during the consultation phase centred around lot sizes and the draft plan provided for larger lots of as few as 14 homes a hectare near creeks in the north-west and south-east of the precinct, as well as at the Tyburn Priory, which was established in 1986.
In 2024 the priory moved to Kurmond near the Blue Mountains. The Tyburn Nuns, formally Adorers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Montmartre, is a Catholic congregation of Benedictine nuns.
However, concerns were raised about the feasibility and affordability of larger lots, highlighting a preference for smaller housing typologies as Australians move away from the quarter-acre block dream.
This led to lot sizes being reduced for the finalised version.
Construction on Stages 1 and 2 of the precinct is already under way.
Sydney Water noted that upgrades for potable and wastewater would be commissioned in 2028-29 to accommodate the precinct but that it would this year provide interim solutions for new developments to connect to the existing wastewater network.
Endeavour Energy confirmed electrical infrastructure had the capacity to serve the precinct, and that an additional substation was in the works.
NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said the “rezoning provides the certainty landowners have been requesting for many years”.
Riverstone East is near the Riverstone CBD and train station, as well as the arterial Windsor Road, the Rouse Hill Town Centre and Tallawong Metro. The area has long been highlighted for rezoning.
Blacktown has been earmarked for explosive growth, shouldering the weight of 21,400 new homes by 2029 expected as part of the NSW Government’s National Housing Accord responsibilities.
