Townhouse Precinct Plans Filed in West Sydney Growth Centre

Western suburbs investors have lodged plans for a small-lot housing development and subdivision that will eventually create 98 townhouses over three stages in outer Sydney’s burgeoning Hills Shire Council.

Siddhi Services, of Wentworthville, want to subdivide two largely vacant adjacent blocks of land—with a total area of about 5.83ha—into 25 residential lots of up to 617sq m, as well as five so-called super lots of from 4855 to 8735 square metres.

The large tract of land, at 26-28 Mason Road, Box Hill, about 40km north-west of the Sydney CBD, was originally a market garden. It’s now zoned for a mix of low, medium and high-density residential.

The development, estimated to cost about $53 million, will include demolition of a disused home, emptying a dam, contamination remediation and the building of four full-width roads and two half-width roads. Thirty-nine trees are slated for removal.

In a second stage, 98 three-bedroom townhouses will be built on three of the five super lots—57 of the homes will have basement parking.

Given the value of the construction, the final authority for development will be one of the Sydney district and regional planning panels.

As part of the submission, town planners Craig and Rhodes said the proposal was considered compatible with the desired future character of the locality and represents an appropriate form and density of housing given its zoning and proximity to the existing and planned infrastructure and services.

▲ The plans call for 98 three-bedroom townhouses on three of the five super lots  included in the subdivision. Main image of site by NearMap

“No unacceptable adverse impacts are considered to result to its surrounds,” the submission said. “This is reflected in the proposal being consistent with the controls and objectives of council’s planning controls, on which basis it is considered within the public interest.”

The Hills Shire Council is one of the state’s fastest growing with a population that has more than doubled in the past 40 years to about 185,000.

In November last year, Hills announced a draft precinct plan for what it calls the Northwest Strategic Centre, which extends beyond the suburb of Norwest and the historical business park boundaries, encompassing land from Old Windsor Road in Bella Vista through to Showground Road in Castle Hill. 

The precinct plan identifies ways to create 30,000 jobs across different sectors. The council also plans for infrastructure upgrades to support growth and provide even greater connectivity to local roads, transport networks and footpaths and cycleways.