The Minns Labor government has been blasted by a former planner of Sydney Olympic Park over drafted plans for the area amid housing woes, calling for “significant increase” to the number of future residents.
The NSW Government’s Master Plan 2050 proposes for up to 13,000 homes and 32,000 jobs and other community infrastructure to be created at the venue of the 2000 Olympic Games.
Sydney Olympic Park Authority was now considering feedback on the plan, but former employee Ben Woods has spoken out over what he claims is a “missing opportunity” for higher density housing.
Senior property development executive Ben Woods told The Daily Telegraph he believes a proposed growth of 6000 residents in the suburb between 2030 and 2050 should be “doubled or tripled”.
“This is a bronze medal outcome for a gold medal opportunity,” he said.
“Name me another place in Sydney where you’ve got hundreds of hectares of parkland in the middle of the city … (plus) the infrastructure that’s already there and the infrastructure that’s coming along … it doesn’t exist.”
Mr Woods, who worked at the Sydney Olympic Park Authority for over two decades before departing in 2022, said the masterplan was “a real missed opportunity”.
Amid housing problems affecting the city, Mr Woods told the masthead he thought the masterplan “should be looking at 60,000 residents”, or possibly more.
The suburb is set to house a future Sydney Metro station as part of its western line project, and a September update said tunnelling and construction of Sydney Olympic Park’s station box had been completed.
The NSW Government on its online planning portal says it is “addressing the current housing shortage by prioritising the building of more diverse homes in well-located areas near transport, open spaces, schools, hospitals and community facilities”.
SkyNews.com.au has approached NSW Minister for Housing Rose Jackson for comment.
