Stockland Development’s Triniti Lighthouse build-to-rent project at North Ryde has been approved on appeal. The project was approved subject to conditions by the NSW Independent Planning Commission, despite the scheme receiving more than 100 public objections and council opposition. That triggered an automatic referral to the commission for determination under the State Significant Development pathway. Community concerns centred on the development’s height and scale, traffic impacts and potential loss of neighbourhood character. The approval came with extensive conditions, including environmental management plans, noise and vibration controls, tree-protection measures, crime-prevention strategies, wind-mitigation measures, acoustic insulation, and public domain works on surrounding streets. The state significant development at 39 Delhi Road will comprise 510 apartments across three buildings of up to 20 storeys, plus ground-level retail and commercial components, for a total 42,084sq m gross floor area. The project also includes 319 carparking spaces and 8098sq m of communal and open space. It is part of Stockland’s broader M_Park life sciences and technology mixed-use precinct spanning 2.74ha at Delhi Road. The Triniti Lighthouse development is to occupy the vacant southern portion of the site. The $450-million Triniti Business Park was the first stage of M_Park. Stockland will pay $9.43 million in developer contributions to Ryde City Council under the conditions, broken down into community facilities ($3 million), open space ($5.8 million), traffic and roads ($430,000), and administration costs ($139,000). The company has also entered into a voluntary planning agreement with the council. The three-member commission panel cited the project’s strategic location within the Macquarie Park Innovation Precinct and its location near the North Ryde Metro Station as key factors in overriding opposition. ▲ Stockland ’ s Triniti Business Park spans 3ha, and has three A-Grade office and mixed-use buildings. The panel determined the project “supports the NSW Government’s target of delivering 377,000 well-located homes over the next five years, as well as the National Housing Accord’s goal of providing 1.2 million new, well-situated homes nationwide within the same timeframe”. “While the commission recognises the potential impacts on the amenity of surrounding residents, these are outweighed by the strategic merit of the development and its consistency with the relevant planning controls and objectives,” the commission said. Construction is to be undertaken across four stages, beginning with site preparation and excavation, followed by the residential towers, retail areas, and dedication of a new access road. The project is expected to support about 400 jobs during construction and generate 196 ongoing operational positions. Stockland is expanding its presence in North Ryde as it progresses a separate $718-million data centre project at nearby Khartoum Road . The data centre proposal filed in March would deliver a six-storey facility with 76.4MW capacity in an area emerging as a key technology and innovation hub in Sydney’s north.
