Warrawong Plaza rezoning approval paves way for project 'the size of a new suburb'

The NSW Government has paved the way for the controversial Warrawong Plaza housing development which opponents fear will “effectively be the size of a new suburb”.

The government has approved a request to rezone the 7-ha suite of the current Warrawong Plaza shopping centre, which aims to provide 1300 homes including 15 per cent set of affordable housing for at least 15 years.

The new planning controls will allow the maximum building height on the site to increase from eight to about 22 storeys. Up to 12 towers are proposed for the site.

The development proposal from Elanor Investors Group came about after the government announced the site was selected as one of five in NSW to deliver additional housing through a State Assessed Planning Pathway.

That decision means the development application won’t be approved by Wollongong City Council, but rather would be assessed by the NSW Government.

Planning Minister and Wollongong MP Paul Scully said the master planned mixed-use development would help meet the Illawarra’s growing housing needs.

“Adding new homes will benefit young people, families and key local workers while also offering existing shops with increased customers and the potential for new businesses in the Warrawong CBD,” he said.

“The Warrawong Plaza and transport hub offers an ideal infill development opportunity to deliver more well-located homes and affordable housing in this changing suburb.

“This is an ideal location close to Kully Bay Park, Lake Illawarra and a short drive from Port Kembla’s Beach Pavilion.”

Mr Scully said the development’s first homes could be built by 2028, and trading would continue at Warrawong Plaza during construction.

However, the vast majority of comments submitted during last year’s public exhibition of the proposal were strongly opposed to it, citing concerns about traffic and transport, density, height, bulk and scale, flooding, social infrastructure and affordable housing.

Of the 61 submissions from community members, 15 were in support, 10 provided comment and 36, or 59 per cent, objected.

In their submissions, residents described the proposal as a “monstrosity”, “outrageous” and “a fusion of chaos in waiting and developer money grabbing”.

“I support a redevelopment of the plaza and more (affordable) housing in our area but 22-storey towers are wrong for our area and disrespectful to our community,” one submission said.

“A suburb with three buses an hour, a staged closure of the nearest hospital, and no train station cannot support 3500 new residents. This would be a 70 per cent increase on the total Warrrawong population.

“Many of my neighbours similarly oppose this proposal and have indicated that they will launch a campaign to oppose, should it get through this stage.”

Neighbourhood Forum 7 (NF7), an independent group of residents supported by Wollongong Council, said the development represented a 66.97 per cent increase in the suburb’s population, “effectively the size of a new suburb”.

“Such increase will put significant additional pressure on existing community infrastructure and support services which in some cases are limited,” the submission said.

“The proposed development provides for 22-storey residential towers. Currently the highest existing building in Warrawong (the former Port Kembla Hospital) is five storeys high and the highest existing unit development (Bent Street) is four storeys high.

“NF7 is concerned that the proposed height of the residential towers will overwhelm the suburb.”

Like many other opponents, NF7 was greatly concerned about flooding issues in the area, noting that “the basement carpark of the existing Warrawong Plaza is often not accessible due to flooding and that Northcliffe Drive on the southern side of the site is also affected by stormwater flooding”.

In response to flooding concerns, the NSW Planning, Housing and Infrastructure Department said the Flood Assessment Report and Flood Impact Assessment Report were updated prior to public exhibition in accordance with comments from council, the SES and independent peer review.

“The reports confirm that the site can be redeveloped without impacting the flood prone part of the site, causing flooding of basement parking levels or habitable floor levels, or causing increased flood impacts to neighbouring properties,” the response said.

The department said flood impacts would be assessed further when the development application (DA) was submitted.

The community will have the opportunity to provide further input during public exhibition of any future DA.

Click here to read submissions, FAQs and the department’s response report.