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Residents in Sydney’s north-west are rallying against the state government’s push to add thousands of homes to their suburbs, with one council saying the area is already “bursting at the seams”.
The Hills Shire Council is alarmed by the state’s recent proposal to bypass council approval for housing that falls under the low- and mid-rise policy for terrace homes and apartment blocks up to six storeys built within 800 metres of a town centre.
The NSW government has upzoned five sites in the Hills district for potential growth, including the area around Baulkham Hills Stockland Mall, which could triple dwellings from 1900 to 6150. Castle Hill Towers, near the new metro station, could rise from 8300 dwellings to potentially 11,300.
Plans to build an extra 7000 new dwellings in these two suburbs, on top of the nearly 59,000 homes already in the council’s pipeline, has sparked a war of words between the community and the state government.
Rapid development was expected with the metro expansion, Hills Shire Council Mayor Michelle Byrne said, but now more homes are being proposed than infrastructure can support.
“You can increase the density all you want, but where is the infrastructure to support that growth?” Byrne said. “We’re a community that’s now bursting at the seams in terms of development.
“[The] community’s at breaking point. Our roads don’t move. Our schools are overcrowded. Our sporting fields are choking. Everywhere you look, there’s more development, but the infrastructure is not keeping up.”
Earlier this year, the council launched a “Fight for a Fairer Hills Future” campaign, which has 16,500 signatures – 3500 away from forcing the matter to be debated in state parliament.
The campaign demands include 13 new schools (three out of the top five most overcrowded public high schools in Sydney are located in the Hills), multiple road widenings and upgrades, 72 hectares of space for parks and alleviating pressure on metro car parks.
Therese Enright, a healthcare worker living in Baulkham Hills, says she supports more housing, but better infrastructure has to come first.
Healthcare worker Therese Enright has lived in Baulkham Hills for four years, after leaving Merrylands because development went too far.Credit: Max Mason-Hubers
“I’m not opposed to people coming. Everyone’s got a right to have a house, [but development has] to be sustainable,” she said.
Another local, Linda Newfield, says Baulkham Hills, which sits outside the metro belt, lacks proper public transport, and fears the roads can’t accommodate more cars.
“I drive everywhere … I’ve got to drive to the bus stop, and then you can’t get parking for the bus,” she says. “Even if I want to catch a Metro, I’ve got to drive up to Castle Hill – where there’s nowhere to park”.
Planning Minister Paul Scully stated the state government had consulted councils before proposing the housing policy.
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“To suggest that north-west Sydney is lacking infrastructure investment from this government is astonishing,” Scully said.
“The Minns government has invested $156 million from the 2025-26 budget to accelerate critical road upgrades, not to mention the new $910 million Rouse Hill hospital and new and upgraded schools in Box Hill, the Gables, Grantham Farm and Tallawong.”
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