Follow the links below to the section of this page you are looking for.

Waterloo Metro over Station Development Exhibitions – Until December 2^nd

Metro Changes from last year

Finding information about the current Waterloo Metro Proposals

On line Information Sessions

Other Information Sources

Navigating the Waterloo Metro DAs – submissions by 2^nd December

The Four Precinct DAs

Amending the Concept DA

Tips for looking at the documents

No printed copies of the DAs are available

Making a submission by December 2

REDWatch Waterloo Metro Submission Working Bee – Tuesday 24 Nov 6pm

Some Issues of concern

Affordable housing decrease

Waterloo Metro over Station Development Exhibitions – Until December 2^nd

On 5^th November 2020 the Department of Planning Industry and Environment (DPIE) put the State Significant Development Applications (DAs) for the Waterloo Metro over Station Development (OSD) on exhibition until December 2^nd 2020. There are five different DAs that the community is expected to digest and comment on within the 28 days exhibition period!

Metro Changes from last year

The Metro development has changed substantially from the State Significant Precinct and Concept DA exhibited for the site in December 2019.

The first lot of changes come from the Approved concept DA – these are the changes made by Sydney Metro in its response to submissions and what was decided by the consent authority’s in its assessment. These changes allowed for a possible substantial increase in commercial floor space and a corresponding decrease in the number of units in development from the 700 originally exhibited. Among other changes, it also removed the community centre building to create more public space in the plaza. The current DA documents compare the current proposal to the approved Concept DA as it is the reference point for the current discussions rather than the initial proposal people saw last year.

The second lot of changes come from the successful tenderer and developer. The joint venture developer has decided that the southern tower residential could be used for student housing and that a better commercial configuration was a lower fatter northern building. The bulk of the community facilities floor space has become a childcare centre, which is an easier option for the developer to deliver than a community centre, which featured in last year’s concept proposal. The community centre floor space was kept but the community centre use disappeared with the exception of a 66 m² space. This is enough space for a small meeting room similar to upstairs at Alexandria Town Hall. Mirvac who will manage the commercial and retail spaces will also manage this space. There is also be an art / creative space in the student housing building..

Understandably, residents comparing last year’s proposal with the one currently on exhibition see a huge difference. The Waterloo Public Housing Action Group (WPHAG) on Facebook have referred to these as Broken Promises.

In the pre-lodgement discussion, there was substantial concern about the proposal for student housing which had not been earlier mentioned as a possibility. There is concern about how it might affect the area and how it would change the use of public space. While the student housing buildings are usually run well, in other locations resident complaints have related to impacts on routes from the building to the nearest pubs and the use of the nearby public spaces for rowdy parties. Recently a student-housing provider applied to operate as a boarding house due to the lack of overseas students.

The cut in residential from 700 units a year ago to 220 now, also impacts the number of affordable housing units delivered because it is represented in the approval as a percentage (5%) unlike social housing which was expressed as a set number of units (70). The initial proposal was to deliver 35 affordable units but the decrease in residential use now only delivers 24 units.

REDWatch is suggesting that the restructuring of floor space on the Northern Precinct to facilitate the better commercial space should be conditional on delivering all the 35 affordable housing units proposed in 2019.

Further changes are expected to what is currently on exhibition as the developer responds to submissions with changes in their response to submissions and then after the approval conditions are set by DPIE. Other Modifications to the approved DAs may also be lodged and exhibited during construction to cover any changes required by the developer. Tenants on the site will also require separate DA’s for their different uses.

Finding information about the current Waterloo Metro Proposals

For this project the official documents on exhibition are the five separate DAs and many thousands of pages of documents. In a later section we will try and help you navigate that but for a quick overview there are a couple of options.

On line Information Sessions

The developers (a John Holland and Mirvac joint venture) with Sydney Metro be holding two information sessions where staff will be able to answer your questions. You can book for these at the links below:

• Session 1:  Thursday 19 November, 6.30pm to 8pm - https://bit.ly/3nE30lE
• Session 2: Saturday 21 November, 1pm to 2.30pm - https://bit.ly/34VFic0

These sessions were held close together and early in the consultation period. If you missed them contact Metro’s community information line on 1800 171 396 or email waterloometro@transport.nsw.gov.au and see if they are planning an additional session if there is enough interest.

We have asked Metro to put the slides from this presentation on the Waterloo section of the Sydney Metro project and progress site

Other Information Sources

Other sources of information on these DAs include:

The Department of Planning has a three tab website with summaries of the “Concept proposal” and the “Detailed designs” on two tabs of its Waterloo Metro Quarter over Station Development web page.

The Sydney Metro project and progress site contains a Waterloo Station over Development section and that is where Sydney Metro and the site’s Developers are placing their material on the exhibition. The material they have produced includes:

• An Environmental Impact Statement overview booklet outlining the consultation, design and planning process associated with these applications. It can be viewed here – print copies are available from The Factory. A copy of this booklet is also displayed in the window of the Waterloo Neighbourhood Centre.
• A Waterloo Metro Quarter newsletter has been produced and it gives you some information about how to make a formal submission in.
• The slides from the information session have also been requested and should be here.
• You can also ask for more information about the Waterloo Metro Quarter by contacting the Metro’s community information line on 1800 171 396 or email waterloometro@transport.nsw.gov.au.

It is important to understand that the Developers are telling the story they want to tell about the redevelopment. Last time, for example, the proponent omitted in their printed material to say that the proposed affordable housing would only be for 10 years. The final approval changed the affordable housing to exist in perpetuity. This time the proponent has not pointed out that building more commercial lessens the number of affordable housing it needs to produce.

Navigating the Waterloo Metro DAs – submissions by 2^nd December

To help you navigate the DAs we have prepared this brief guide.

The Four Precinct DAs

The Waterloo planning has been further fragmented (it started with the Waterloo Estate and then was split from it). The developers have split the Metro site into four separate DAs with retail at the base of each building. The developers say the splitting of the DAs makes staging and subdivision easier for them but it certainly makes wading through documents more difficult for the community.

The DAs set out how they plan to divide the site, in the case of the Southern Precinct, for example, they separate the social housing, student housing and retail. The public space, retail, commercial and community room are to be owned and operated by Mirvac after construction according to information at the on-line briefing.

The four DAs below are prepared in the expectation that the Concept DA discussed in a subsequent section will be changed as requested. This means you may need to comment on the Concept DA as well as the DA for the precinct of the site concerned.

The full set of documents for each DA and the link to make online submissions on that DA is the first link for each DA below. The second link is to the main Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) document for that DA. The description primarily comes from the DPIE website descriptions.

The new precincts are:

• Northern Precinct SSD-10440 (Commercial Building) link to Environmental Impact Statement - Northern Precinct. For a building height of 9 to 17 storeys with a gross floor area of approximately 34,681m², comprising retail premises at the base and office premises above. A pedestrian through-site link from Raglan Street through to Cope Street Plaza (“Raglan Walk”), a vehicle loading and service facilities accessed from Botany Road, shared with loading and service facilities for the Waterloo Metro station. Includes signage zones and staged stratum subdivision.
• Central Precinct SSD-10439 (Private and Affordable Housing and Community Facilities) link to Environmental Impact Statement - Central Precinct. For a building height of 22 to 24 storeys with a gross floor area of approximately 14,924m², comprising ground floor retail tenancies, a 62 m² community hub, use of Levels 1 and 2 for a 2,200 m² childcare centre and residential uses above with approximately 24 affordable housing apartments and 126 market apartments. Includes publicly accessible open space, including a pedestrian through-site link from Botany Road to Cope Street Plaza (“Grit Lane”), a shared zone from Cope Street Plaza to Botany Road (“Church Square”) and expanded footpaths along Botany Road as well as private open space, including Level 1 planting and a rooftop residential terrace. Includes signage zones and staged stratum subdivision.
• Southern Precinct SSD-10437 (Student and Social housing and Public Plaza) link to Environmental Impact Statement - Southern Precinct. For construction and operation of two residential buildings with a gross floor area of approximately 18,839 m². This DA includes:
• A student housing building of 25 storeys (12,129m²) on the corner of Botany Road and Wellington Street for approximately 474 students.
• A social housing building of nine storeys (5,437m²) on the corner of Wellington Street and Cope Street, above a southern Metro Station structure, with 70 social housing dwellings.
• Ground floor and podium uses (1,273m²) on the corner of Botany Road and Wellington Street for retail premises, a community space, a gym, communal space for student housing, lobbies and loading facilities.
• Publicly accessible open space including a 1,341m² plaza along Cope Street, a shared zone from Cope Street into the site and expanded footpaths along Botany Road and Wellington Street with the removal of 5 street trees and replacement with 25 trees along Botany Road and the existing Church.
• This DA includes private open space, including at podium and rooftop levels for the proposed uses, signage zones, vehicle loading and service facilities accessed from Wellington Street and a staged stratum subdivision.

• Basement Car Park SSD-10438 (Parking and End of Trip facilities) link to Environmental Impact Statement - Basement. For construction of a ground floor slab on which all future buildings will be built, end of trip facilities for office and retail uses and plant and services. It includes two shared basement levels containing:
• A maximum of 155 car parking spaces to cater for the Waterloo Northern, Central and Southern precincts, as well as the existing Waterloo Congregation Church, Sydney Metro staff and shared servicing spaces. No parking is proposed for a student housing building in the Southern Precinct.
• Thirteen motorcycle spaces for the proposed office and residential buildings.
• Residential and office bicycle storage.
• Residential storage

It is important to note that in these DAs the artists impressions do matter in these DAs as they are supposed to represent what will actually be built. Artist impressions in earlier exhibitions where a general guide but did not reflect final designs. These are the almost final designs.

Amending the Concept DA

Making things even more difficult for those wanting to understand and comment, the developers have decided to change what has already been approved for the site. This means they also have to amend the already approved Concept DA making for a fifth set of documents:

• Concept OSD DA Amendment SSD-10441 (Changes in the Northern and Central Precinct building envelopes) Environmental Impact Statement Amending DA. The main changes are illustrated in the documents but in short are:

• Removing the ‘tower component’ of the northern precinct, reducing the overall height of the tower envelope by 26.5 metres to make its maximum height 17 storeys. The removed floor space is moved to the south and south-east portions of the Northern Precinct to make larger floor plates for commercial use increasing the heights approved for these parts of the development. There are some other small changes.
• The proposal seeks to modify the approved Central Building envelope by extending the podium on the east to allow for a more usable floor plate shape and design, and to articulate the entry to Raglan Walk.
• Seeks minor amendments to the conditions of approval under SSD 9393 to enable awnings, balustrades, roof top pergolas and the like to be located outside of the approved building envelope and provide clarity on minor design items.
• No changes are proposed to the concept approval for the Southern Precinct.

Tips for looking at the documents

The Document labelled as The Environment Impact Statement (EIS) is the main report for each DA and Section 4 in that report describes the development covered by that document. Just reading Section 4 in each EIS won’t tell you everything, but it will give you a pretty good understanding of the proposal covered by that DA.

A lot of the general information about the site and context is common across the five EISs. In later sections, the developer has to detail how their proposal meets the strategic and statutory requirements for the development of the site, how they have addressed issues raised in their pre-lodgement community and stakeholder engagement, and prepare a detailed Environmental Impact Assessment.

The contents of later sections do vary depending on the site. Therefore, how the childcare centre meets regulatory requirements is only dealt with in the Central Precinct report, for example.

Looking through one EIS will give you a lot of the material that is common across all.

There is further information in the Appendix if you need it. The (EIS) includes references the findings of the supporting studies listed in the Appendix. The full EIS includes up to 39 Appendices (some in many parts). Some Appendices are unique to a particular DA and some have a lot in common. The developer has advised that the following Appendices are the same across the DAs

• Appendix G Endorsed Design Excellence Strategy
• Appendix U Pre-submission Consultation Report
• Appendix AA Social and Economic Analysis
• Appendix CC Heritage Interpretation Strategy
• Appendix DD Airspace Approval
• Appendix GG Reflectivity Statement
• Appendix KK Wind Impact Assessment
• Appendix LL Overshadowing Analysis
• Appendix MM Public Art Strategy

The Appendix AA - Social and Economic Analysis is one report that is likely to be of interest as the study includes a Social Needs Assessment looking at Community and Cultural Facilities, Open Space and Recreation, Early Childhood Education and Care as well as Education and Health Facilities. It also includes a Market Demand, Need and Impact for Commercial Office space, Residential, Retail, Childcare and Gym.

If you have a special interest in an topic or area, you can search the EIS PDF documents for your area of interest such as “health” or “social housing”. Do not forget to look also for organisations related to your area of interest such as “SLHD” or “LAHC” using both full title and their initials. Check any Appendix that might relate to your interest.

Waterloo public tenants might be interested in looking at the Southern DA for example, as it includes information on the proposed layout of the 70 social housing units in the development. Some Waterloo tenants may be relocated to this development when Waterloo South is redeveloped, and it also gives some idea of what kind of floor layout and unit size might be used in the Waterloo Estate redevelopment. It is noted that the social housing is being built to LAHC requirements and does not include a community room but has a common roof-top garden area.

No printed copies of the DAs are available

For the Concept DA printed copied were available at Council service centres. Sydney Metro also provided copies of the documents to Waterloo Library, Inner Sydney Voice, Counterpoint and REDWatch so public housing tenants could easily access them.

The Department of Planning has advised that it currently is not circulating hard copies of documents for public exhibition due to public health risks associated with the Covid-19 pandemic.

People with limited computer access at home can view the EIS documents online at the following locations, noting that some Covid-19 precautions are in place:

• Green Square Library and Customer Service Centre, by prior appointment.  The library is open for access to computers.
• City of Sydney One Stop Shop in the Sydney CBD, by prior appointment. We are advised that the computers available to the public are operational, but only one person can view the documents at a time in order to maintain at least 1.5m separation distance.
• Any Service NSW location.  We are advised that the Public Access Screens are all operational.  The closest Service NSW locations to Waterloo are Haymarket, Marrickville, Wynyard and Bondi Junction.

The Department recommends anyone interested in using the facilities at these locations should call first, to ensure any requirement for an appointment is made, and in case of changes in access arrangements at short notice in response to any public health concerns.

The Metro developers have also indicated they are prepared to make USB sticks with the documents on them available to tenants with internet problems through Counterpoint Community Services. You can also access the material through Counterpoint Community Services. If you need any help accessing the materials contact Adam Antonelli wrcd@counterpointcs.org.au .

The proponents own flyer says “You should read the EIS documents for full details about the development” but this is not possible for the bulk of public housing community if they cannot access the internet and are not familiar with computers and navigating large documents on-line.

This is a significant equity issue here. In the 2016 Census, the public-housing-only statistical areas of Waterloo reported that about 35 percent of households had an internet connection. This is the best data we have and a similar question will not be asked in the 2021 census. Many tenants report they are reliant on low-end mobile phone plans, primarily for phone calls, that have low mobile data allowances. Some public housing buildings like Dobell have difficulty getting mobile signals.

None of these suggestions works for people with no computer experience or who cannot use the technology. Further solutions need to be found to ensure everyone can understand the proposal and comment.

The Waterloo Redevelopment Group and NGOs are talking to Council about how to overcome this digital divide for the Waterloo South consultation next year. In the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, the plans for the destruction of Earth were on display for 50 years in Alpha Centauri and the people of Earth are berated for not taking an interest in local affairs. Not making paper versions of the DAs available are like that for some people.

Making a submission by December 2

If you want your comments and concerns registered, your submission must be made to the Department of Planning Infrastructure and Environment (DPIE), not the Developer.

Depending on what you comment on, you may need to make multiple submissions of the same or similar information for up to five of the DAs. You may want to put together your thoughts and then either attach a document or cut and paste the comments into the relevant DPIE page.

You can make a submission in the following ways:

• On the DPIE website: You will have to create an online account with DPIE (unless you already have one) to upload to the DPIE website for a DA. There is a blue “Make a submission” box at the top of each DA exhibition pages on DPIE’s Major Projects website.
• Email to: information@planning.nsw.gov.au
• Post to: Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, Locked Bag 5022, Parramatta NSW 2124

If you are making a submission by email or post you are also required to provide details the following information:

• Your name and address
• The name of your application
• The reference for the relevant DAs SSD-10437 SSD-10438 SSD-10439 SSD-10440 SSD-10441 (you can find the SSD number earlier on this page for specific DAs)
• A brief statement on whether you support or object to the proposal
• The reasons why you support or object to the proposal.
• Declare if you have donated more than $1000 to a political party (see notes)
• State clearly if you do not want your submission made public (see notes)

Submissions must be received by 2 December 2020.

REDWatch Waterloo Metro Submission Working Bee – Tuesday 24 Nov 6pm

REDWatch will hold a working bee to write its submission on Tuesday 24 November at 6pm at The Factory, 67 Raglan Street Waterloo.

If you can’t attend in person but want to be involved then contact Adam and we will see if it might be possible to be involved in some way by Zoom, but given the nature of writing a joint submission it is best done in person, taking the necessary Covid-19 precautions.

We can also help you with your own submission, so if you  put down your ideas of what you want to say in your own submission, bring them along to The Factory and we can assist you.

REDWatch wants input about people’s concerns. If you can’t make it on the day you can email your comments to Adam Antonelli wrcd@counterpointcs.org.au or ring him on 9698 9569 at The Factory.

Some Issues of concern

Affordable housing decrease

One major change between the initial Concept DA and the current DA is that the number of Affordable Housing units proposed drops from 35 to 24. This is a direct consequence of the Concept DA approval creating flexibility for more commercial space in the Development. Increasing commercial floor space decreases residential floor space and affordable housing is set as at a minimum of 5% of residential floor space. Social housing was set as a number (70) not a percentage so it stays at 70.  Turning the Northern Precinct from Residential to Commercial reduces the amount of Affordable Housing the developer needs to provide.

Those concerned about the decrease of Affordable Housing should request that DPIE place a condition of the Concept Plan amendment to facilitate the commercial space in the Northern Precinct. That condition should be that the 35 affordable housing units, which would have been delivered without the change of use, are delivered as a condition of the DA change requested to facilitate the commercial use. Alternatively, to put it another way, that Affordable housing should be calculated as a minimum of 5% of across both the residential and commercial floor space.

This page covers information supplied in REDWatch Email Updates that has been assembled as a guide to help people understand the Waterloo Metro DAs and to make submissions on it.

Updated: 21 November 2020