Will towers rise above the new Woollahra station? We’re about to find out

17 hours ago 4

Investigations to start this weekend into ground conditions at the site of a planned station at Woollahra in Sydney’s east will determine the scale of the project and whether towers can be built above the railway like those at Bondi Junction, Waterloo or in the central city.

More than four months after Premier Chris Minns revived plans for a station at Woollahra, the state’s transport department will carry out geotechnical investigations of the ground conditions, as well as assessments of existing structures at the site. The work will take place during a scheduled shutdown of the T4 eastern suburbs line for track repairs this weekend.

The site on the eastern suburbs line at Woollahra will undergo geotechnical assessments this weekend.

It signals the ramping up of an extensive list of work that will be required to meet an ambitious timeframe for construction to start on the station next year and be completed in 2029. The government has estimated the station will cost $200 million to build.

The assessment of ground conditions will give planners a greater sense of the extent of design options for the station, and whether they could include towers above the railway. Apartment towers above the station would help the government more easily meet its target for up to 10,000 homes to be built in Woollahra and nearby Edgecliff.

So-called over-station developments comprising office or apartment towers have or are being built atop some stations on Sydney’s expanding metro rail network, including Waterloo, Crows Nest and Martin Place. A number of stations on the city’s heavy rail network including Bondi Junction, Edgecliff and Chatswood also feature developments above the railway.

The site at Woollahra has sat idle since the 1970s when a station was proposed there for the eastern suburbs rail line but did not progress due to cost blowouts and strong opposition from the local community.

NSW ministers John Graham, Paul Scully and Rose Jackson with Premier Chris Minns at the Woollahra station site in August.

The government plans a rezoning of Woollahra and Edgecliff stations, similar to those at Burwood North and along Parramatta Road, to clear the way for up to 10,000 homes to be built. The rezoning is expected to take about two years, and plans are due to be put on public exhibition in the second half of this year.

Transport Minister John Graham said the government was in the early stages of the rezoning of Woollahra and Edgecliff stations, and any decisions on an over-station development would come once it was further progressed.

Graham said it was a “back to the future moment” in which work to connect the Woollahra ghost station into the rail system would begin this weekend.

“This station just makes sense when you consider the young families that are being forced to move out of Sydney because they can’t afford a home,” he said.

“About 10,000 new homes in this area are part of the solution to that problem and a rebalance from all housing growth happening in Sydney’s west.”

Earlier this week, Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane said there would be no change to the Coalition’s pro-housing policy or its position on supporting the opening of the Woollahra station.

Sloane announced her new-look shadow cabinet, which included vocal YIMBY Chris Rath taking on the planning and housing portfolio. She said the Coalition would continue the stance it took under former leader Mark Speakman and pursue a YIMBY (yes in my backyard) agenda.

“Chris Rath has experience and an interest in housing and development and I thought he was the best person for the role, and he reflects that consistent position on housing,” she said. “We need to be pro-housing, we need to make sure young people have an opportunity to fulfil their dreams of home ownership.”

Transport for NSW secretary Josh Murray said the geotechnical work at Woollahra would be critical to inform plans for the design of the station, and he reiterated that construction was expected to start next year and be completed in 2029.

“These works are an important step toward delivering a station that meets the needs of the community for decades to come,” he said.