Category: Masterplan

Low and Mid-Rise Housing

NSW Govt Low and mid-rise housing plan for Pennant Hills and Thornleigh (2025)

The NSW State Government has recently published its first attempt at a new Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy and it’s a fairly big change from current affairs. All along Sydney they plan to focus most of the “Missing Middle” housing in close proximity to transport hubs – train stations, metro stations, and bus interchanges.

Not everyone is excited, as you can imagine.

Hornsby Council recently published a map for our Shire, see the featured image in this post. It’s basically an 800m radius around the train stations, minus what is currently not classed as an R2 residential, 2 storey zone, such as the shopping centre, or a few other buildings.

What does that mean? What does it mean for Pennant Hills? It’s not that trivial.

Lane Cove Council has organized a public meeting to explain some of the details and the impact this new planning instrument has on our local towns. It’s not exactly the same as Pennant Hills (they’ve just received a new metro station, we’ve got a train and bus interchange), but it’s a good proxy for where we are.

Have a look at the 1 hour recording of their meeting via this external link.

Interesting times ahead, for sure.

Will things change? Probably. Will it be good? Mostly, we guess. Will there be some problems? Sure! Is this going to turn our town into another Chatswood (the Mordor of modern day development) or Parramatta? Unlikely. Can you sell and become very rich very quickly? Maybe, if you’re “in the zone” and team up with your neighbours and a good lawyer. Will there be any tradies available to build all this stuff? “Are you kidding me?” Can you object and send letters of protest to Council or to the NSW Govt? Sure. Will that help? Probably not!

Improving Pennant Hills CBD

Pennant Hills CBD – Proposed 40km/h High Pedestrian Activity Area (HPAA) and Public Domain Improvements

Council, in partnership with Transport for NSW, has identified Pennant Hills CBD as a location that requires traffic improvements to ensure the safety of pedestrians. These works will also incorporate tree plantings which will provide the benefits of cooler places and improved street appeal.

The proposed treatment is aimed at improving pedestrian amenity by providing a self-enforcing low speed environment consisting of the following devices:

  • 40km/h High Pedestrian Activity Area in parts of Yarrara Road, Shields Lane, Ramsay Road, Hillcrest Road, Fisher Avenue and Railway Parade
  • Raised Threshold Entries with landscaped blister islands in Yarrara Road, Ramsay Road, Hillcrest Road and Fisher Avenue
  • Median traffic island in Yarrara Road at Hillcrest Road
  • Pedestrian refuge islands in Ramsay Road
  • Landscaped kerb blister islands in Hillcrest Road
  • Pedestrian refuge islands in Fisher Avenue near Pennant Hills Road
  • Associated pavement delineation and traffic signs

More information on the proposed intersection improvements can be found on Hornsby Council’s website, see this link. Detailed plans are available here.

Hornsby Council is investing approximately $650’000 in this project, which comes from NSW Government grant which was received last year.

The Civic Trust supports the proposal in principle, with minor amendments, and we are liaising with Council traffic safety engineers. The proposal will improve the road safety of pedestrians, cyclists and car drivers in the Pennant Hills Town Centre, which will likely improve the amenity.

Hornsby Council is inviting your feedback on this proposal, until March 4th, 2020. So go on, and have your say!

GSC – Draft Community Participation Plan – now on exhibition

The community has been critical in helping shape the work of the Greater Sydney Commission since it was established. Earlier this year we brought together more than 100 community members for a series of co-design workshops to understand how we can best engage with the community in planning for Greater Sydney’s future. Feedback and ideas from these workshops have been used to shape our draft Community Participation Plan (CPP). All planning authorities across NSW are now required to prepare a CPP. The CPP will replace our Engagement Strategy, reaffirming our commitment to be a listening organisation and guiding our strong collaborative approach. It outlines the tools we will use, values we will embrace and opportunities we will provide for the community to be involved in the work of the Commission.

The GSC draft Community Participation Plan (CPP) is now on public exhibition, from 27 September to 12 November 2019. The GSC is looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the draft and your ideas for how they can include more people in strategic planning for Greater Sydney’s future. You can read the draft and share your feedback here.

After the exhibition period, the final CPP will be published on 1 December 2019 on both the Commission’s website and the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment’s Planning Portal.

Planning for People: A Community Charter for Good Planning in NSW

The Better Planning Network believes that NSW needs a fundamentally different planning system from the one that is currently operating. A system that is driven by Ecologically Sustainable Development principles and one that is fairer, more transparent and less open to corruption.

This is why the BPN, together with a number of other groups including the National Trust (NSW), Shelter NSW, Nature Conservation Council of NSW, National Parks Association of NSW, Inner Sydney Voice and the Total Environment Centre, have developed Planning for People: A Community Charter for Good Planning in NSW.

In the lead up to the State elections on 23 March, BPN is calling on you to formally endorse this Charter.  Continue reading “Planning for People: A Community Charter for Good Planning in NSW”

Hornsby Shire Council and Pennant Hills – AGM 2018

Hornsby Shire Council’s General Manager Steven Head gave a very interesting presentation about his views on the immediate and intermediate future of Pennant Hills. He discussed various planning questions, our ideas towards a town plan, the bike path from Pennant Hills to Epping, and other topics. The presentation was followed by a short Q&A session with Mr Head, Trust Members, and the Councillors present. Mr Head was kind enough to let us distribute the slides from his presentation, which you can find in the link below.

HSC-Presentation-to-PHDCT-AGM-20181018

Community Forums – August 2018

On Thursday 23 August 2018, Hornsby Council held its community forum for B Ward at the Pennant Hills Bowling Club. Councillors Browne, Nicita, Heyde and McIntosh, as well as Mayor Ruddock attended this forum, and answered questions from residents.

Community Forums

Community Forum Meetings are a valuable opportunity for local residents to raise issues and gain feedback from their local Councillors. They are a golden opportunity to put your views on what Council and its representatives should be doing for us their electors in an informal meeting.

Continue reading “Community Forums – August 2018”

Traffic And Parking At Our Shire Stations

Are commuter traffic and parking key issues for residents in the Pennant Hills District/Hornsby Shire?

In the Australian on 24 February 2018 (‘Sydney and Melbourne the focal point for a nation of commuters’) the demographer Bernard Salt, states that 2016 ABS Census data indicates “that 120,000 workers flow south into the greater Sydney metropolis in the morning, only to return exhausted in the evening.”

Traffic and Parking at our Shire Stations

This is 14,000 commuters more than the estimate made in the 2011 Census, with the number of commuters growing by almost 3,000 a year. These commuters, as well as 7,000 from Newcastle, pass through and perhaps even park in the Shire. Continue reading “Traffic And Parking At Our Shire Stations”

A Vision for the Future of Pennant Hills

For many years the Pennant Hills District Civic Trust has urged successive Councils to prepare a strategic vision for the development of Pennant Hills. We believe a pause in State Government imposed housing targets in the Shire plus the impending completion of major road and rail infrastructure (which will beneficially impact Pennant Hills), provides an opportunity for Council to use this time to prepare an overarching plan to guide the medium-term development of Pennant Hills.

The Trust is presenting this submission to Council, local politicians, and our membership with the intention of starting a conversation between all stakeholders which will result in a vision for the medium-term future of Pennant Hills which is designed by experts and accepted by the community. Continue reading “A Vision for the Future of Pennant Hills”

Pennant Hills Town Plan – Let’s have the Vision before the Plan

In November 2016, the Council invited landowners, business owners, and community progress associations in Pennant Hills and Thornleigh to participate in the Picture Pennant Hills online survey. Not surprisingly, the responses were that there should be little or no development in Pennant Hills, but the Council should facilitate the creation of a welcoming village atmosphere supporting successful local business, with adequate shopping and professional services, through investment in long overdue improvements to shopping centre parking, community and social infrastructure. Continue reading “Pennant Hills Town Plan – Let’s have the Vision before the Plan”