The fact that the Sydney suburb of Wentworth Point holds the crown of the country’s most densely populated postcode didn’t deter Emily Hurry and Oliver ke Duan from buying a unit there. In fact, that was the attraction.
The couple, ahead of the birth of their now one-year-old daughter, Eliza, wanted to believe Wentworth Point would become a “prime example of what a sustainable future Sydney could look like”, Hurry said.
They knew when they purchased in 2023 that the suburb wasn’t yet perfect, a crowded peninsula with little way to get in or out. But the prospect of construction of the second stage of the Parramatta light rail, connecting Wentworth Point to both Parramatta and Sydney Olympic Park, kept them hopeful.
Now, after the Labor government shifted plans to presently build only half the second stage, including nine new stops and a bridge over the Parramatta River, Hurry said their dreams of reliable connectivity and easy movement had been “crushed”.
“[The line will connect us to] Melrose Park, which doesn’t really have anything,” she said. “The connection to the metro line at Olympic Park would be your real ticket to the rest of Sydney.”
While the Metro West line is due to open in 2032, Transport Minister John Graham has refused to say when work will begin on the second half of the new line. Stage 2b is currently unfunded, and the government has not said how much it will cost.
It raises questions about whether the government will be able to fulfil its election promise to build the whole line.
When Labor announced its election commitment before the 2023 state election, then-opposition leader Chris Minns said that after dozens of unfulfilled Liberal promises to build the line, Labor would “complete this piece of transport infrastructure for western Sydney”.
“In places like Wentworth Point, you’ve got the most densely compact part of Sydney, with families and communities moving in with the promise of infrastructure that has never eventuated,” he said at the time.
“What we’re promising today is the money will be allocated for it, major construction will begin in the next term of government, and it will be completed not long after that. We can’t promise miracles, but we are consistent about the money that will be allocated, and the project will be completed.”
His incoming transport minister Jo Haylen said: “People have bought homes, they’ve made investments, they’ve opened businesses along this route on the basis of that promise. Well, where the Liberals have failed, Labor will deliver the public transport that these rapidly growing communities need.
“We won’t leave Parramatta with half a light rail service because it must connect to Sydney Olympic Park to make it more than just an events precinct, but a vibrant, growing residential neighbourhood, where people do more than just play, but live and work as well.”
Natalie Ward, now the opposition transport spokesperson, accused the government of breaking its promise. “They looked the people of Wentworth Point and Parramatta in the eye, promised the world, and have now turned their back,” she said. “They all stood up and said they would do it. The community of Wentworth Point have been completely let down.”
Buildings get taller on expectation of light rail
In the meantime, Wentworth Point has been getting denser. Developments have been approved and had their heights increased on the basis of plans for future improved connectivity.
Japanese developer Sekesui House was given permission by the City of Parramatta council to increase the height of its Sanctuary development to widen the gap between buildings to allow the light rail to pass through.
“The transport corridor will transform what is currently a disconnected headland to a well-serviced [location] (by public transport options of buses, ferry and light rail), making it a desirable location to reside, work and enjoy the natural parklands,” the developer said in its plan.
The light rail was mentioned 17 times in plans for a nearby development at 9 Burroway Road. Planners used the connectivity offered by Stage 2 of the light rail project as evidence that the “negative impacts” of increased road and public transport usage caused by the development would be “reduced to low negative or neutral impacts”. The building was approved as a state-significant development in October.
Mega-developer Billbergia’s highly contentious Block H development was last year listed as state significant by the new Housing Development Authority, granting it greater height limits for the inclusion of 5 per cent affordable housing.
In response to detailed questions about the project, Graham said: “As is common with multibillion-dollar projects it will be built in stages, in line with Infrastructure NSW’s strategy to balance the budget, match market capacity and protect NSW taxpayer money. The former government announced this project 15 times and never swung a shovel in anger.
“We have been completely consistent on PLR2, we promised to start construction in our first term, and that’s exactly what we’re delivering.”
Hurry, who recently declined a job offer in nearby Parramatta because it was easier to commute to North Sydney, said Sydney house prices meant the family had to choose between living in an apartment in Sydney or moving to a place like Wollongong. They don’t want to leave.
“We’re happy that the light rail is coming,” Hurry said. “But it’s just hard to maintain that positivity when it just feels like endless delays and half promises. We’re making life decisions around that.
“Apartment urban living, we were really trying to buy into it, but it’s hard when the infrastructure’s not there to meet those greedy developers making a million apartments and crowding everything up. It’s got to keep pace with each other.”
The Sydney Morning Herald has opened a bureau in the heart of Parramatta. Email parramatta@smh.com.au with news tips.
