Sydney South-West Corridor Gets 9000 ‘Green’ Homes

More than 9000 “green” homes are planned as part of a draft vision for the new suburb of Wilton in the Macarthur region south-west of Sydney.

The Wilton Town Centre, located on the Hume Highway about 80 kilometres south of Sydney and 30 kilometres north of Wollongong, is currently being transformed with 11,000 new housing lots planned.

Wilton forms part of Western Parkland City incorporating Liverpool, Greater Penrith and Campbelltown-Macarthur.

It is a focus of state infrastructure development around the new Western Sydney Airport and Aerotropolis at Bradfield, due to begin operating by 2026.

In a bid to boost housing supply and address climate and environmental concerns, NSW planning minister Rob Stokes has unveiled the final Wilton Development Control Plan.

Stokes said the detailed planning and design controls, overseen by the regional housing taskforce, would guide the development of thousands of new homes in the South East Wilton and North Wilton precincts.

Lighter coloured roofs will be a mandatory part of the planning controls for the Wilton area, while residential lots will also be upsized to enable the growth of a tree in every backyard.

“Wilton will change the face of development in the Macarthur, with improved standards for backyard sizes to facilitate trees, front gardens and lighter colour palettes to help reduce the urban heat island effect,” Stokes said.

“This means, for the first time, homes are required to have light coloured roofs.

“We are determined to help to keep the temperatures of our homes and streets cooler in the summer months, especially in Sydney’s western and south-western suburbs.”

Currently, 280 homes are under construction and expected to be delivered by 2025, 1600 lots already being prepared and 250 lots currently registered.

By 2031, the Wilton Town Centre will be home to 1600 new homes as well as a new school, healthcare facility and a public transport interchange.

The region is expected to be home to more than 15,000 houses by 2041 as well as 17ha of commercial precincts that could support approximately 4700 jobs and 39ha of environmental conservation land.

Stokes said the controls would also ensure that neighbourhood plans and subsequent development applications were in accordance with biodiversity principles—providing a “sensitive urban interface” with koala habitats and growth corridors.

The controls will now also take effect on 7000 new dwellings planned for Lowes Creek Maryland, 2400 for stages two and five of Leppington and the 1600 dwellings already green lit as part of the Wilton Town Centre.

Mayor Robert Khan said the Wollondilly council would now review the controls before providing feedback to the state government to ensure it provided the “best possible outcome for the community”.

In March, civil and subdivision works began at the future site of Wilton’s latest $1.5-billion masterplanned community, Wilton Greens, which spans 433ha and will eventually be made up of 3600 land parcels.

The Risland Australia project features two employment hubs, a local neighbourhood centre, seven large parks and playgrounds, several kilometres of cycle paths and 8.5 hectares of open spaces.

In the same month, Lendlease put the balance of its Bingara Gorge housing estate in Wilton, 112ha of developable land with the capacity to yield almost 900 lots, on the market.