Parramatta Council has reluctantly supported a proposal for a new Meriton development in Carlingford.
As the State Government continues to put pressure on local Councils to deliver more housing, City of Parramatta has voted for the Meriton Carlingford development to proceed to the next step – despite concerns that its increased size could strongly impact the community.
Meriton currently already has approval for a large number of dwellings to be built on land at 263-273 Pennant Hills Road and 18 Shirley Street.
However, this new proposal reveals the developer now wants to build a higher-density mixed-use development on the site than is allowed under the current planning controls.
That includes increasing the height of the proposed buildings up to 29-storeys, as well as the residential gross floor area increasing from 50,454sqm to 74,655sqm.
In order to get Council onside, Meriton has also proposed a Voluntary Planning Agreement (VPA) to deliver a range of community infrastructure.
That means if Council agreed to support the proposal, the developer would also provide a library, community centre and open space for the local community, estimated to cost $27.5 million.
If Council did not support the planning proposal, Councillor Georgina Valjak said there was a chance the State Government would have taken over as planning authority, which could have put the much-needed community infrastructure at risk.
“I want to ensure that our community doesn’t miss out on a planning agreement that benefits them in the long-term, my biggest fear is that if we are to refuse this planning proposal, the developer is well within their rights to go straight to the State Government,” she said.
“I don’t want Council to lose control of this and I believe that the planning agreement will provide enormous benefit to the local community in the years to come in terms of open space, a library and community centre.”
Raising an amendment to ensure the traffic implications are considered, Valjak added that the Councillors share the communities concerns regarding traffic and schools.
The planning proposal will now proceed to a gateway determination, which will enable community consultation to be undertaken.
Councillor Michelle Garrard also voiced her concerns about the Meriton planning proposal.
“This is clearly a development outside the CBD and in a medium density area, 29 storeys on Pennant Hills Road at this point is unprecedented, the density in and around the area is around 15 storeys. This is nearly double,” she said.
“We feel like our hands are tied because we’re going to get the developments anyway.”
Councillor Kellie Darley said the decision to support the proposal was like being caught between “a rock and a hard place.”
“The reality is that at the moment Meriton could go and build 526 units on that site without needing to provide the community infrastructure,” she continued.
“In an ideal world would we want to build more apartments there? No, but we are in a housing crisis, we are required to increase the level of housing supply in the area.”
Ellie Busby is a news reporter for Western Sydney Publishing Group. A graduate of the University of Hertfordshire and Western Sydney University, she is a journalism Major. Ellie has worked with Universal Media, The Cova Project and for a range of other organisations. In 2024, Ellie was named Young Writer of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.