‘Mini City” Plan Plea

Hills Shire Council has officially submitted its feedback on the proposed “mini city” development at Bella Vista and Kellyville Metro Stations, urging the NSW Government to reconsider its “rushed plans”.

At the recent council meeting on 13th August, Hills Shire councillors unanimously backed a submission to the NSW Department of Planning, Housing, and Infrastructure, raising significant concerns about the proposed rezoning of land around the Kellyville and Bella Vista Metro Stations.

The submission was prompted by the Department’s exhibition of its Transport Oriented Development (TOD) plan for the Bella Vista and Kellyville Metro Stations, which close for public comment today, Friday, August 23.

Council’s submission highlights what it calls “serious issues” with the proposal, including inadequate infrastructure, insufficient road upgrades, environmental impacts, and increased flooding risks.

It maintains that if the plans are approved, they would create the capacity for 100,000 additional people … more than some of Sydney’s Local Government Areas.

Key concerns outlined by Council include:

• Traffic: The plan fails to account for the contribution of the arterial road network to regional traffic and productivity.
• Public Transport: Council calls for more bus services, additional commuter parking spaces, and bus priority measures to improve access to Metro stations.
• Open Space and Community Facilities: The plan provides insufficient funding for social infrastructure. All residents should have access to a local park within 400 metres, and the area needs more than a dozen new playing fields. The additional community centre and library space must also be funded.
• Schools: Despite plans to further upzone the land to accommodate an additional 43,000 residents, no new school sites have been identified.
• Flooding Risks: The area near Elizabeth Macarthur Creek is prone to flooding.
• Growth Distribution: Of the 47,800 additional dwellings planned across eight TOD Accelerated Precincts, 43% are concentrated in just two precincts, including Bella Vista and Kellyville.
• Employment Land Use: Council insists that rezoning must preserve the area’s job capacity and employment potential. Old Windsor Road will struggle to support the incoming population without significant upgrades.
• Built Form and Scale: Further urban design analysis is needed to assess the impacts on the Elizabeth Macarthur Creek corridor and nearby low-density areas.
• Ecologically Sustainable Development: An updated flora and fauna study is required to consider potential heritage and ecological impacts before finalising the rezoning.
• Building Certification: Council highlighted ongoing issues with private certification, which have led to significant defects in some developments.
• Emergency Services: The NSW Government should honour its commitment to secure a site for a future SES headquarters within the Bella Vista-Kellyville Metro corridor. The plan lacks provisions for Fire & Rescue, Police, or local courts to service the new population.

Hills Shire Council’s General Manager, Michael Edgar, said: “Unless revised, these plans will leave our current and future residents with a precinct that feels overdeveloped and inadequate, leading to widespread dissatisfaction.

“Our submission reflects Council’s deep concerns about the impacts of an additional 100,000 residents in these precincts, on top of the current population.

“While we recognise the urgency of addressing the housing crisis, rushing these plans through without proper assessment and infrastructure will lead to a quality-of-life crisis. “