SOPA: Who Is Protecting Sydney Olympic Park?

The proposal for 145 social housing homes at 2A-4 Edwin Flack Avenue, Sydney Olympic Park is moving ahead at considerable speed, with very limited time for meaningful community consultation.

These 145 homes are just one parcel of land within Sydney Olympic Park. The bigger question is what comes next. If this development is allowed to proceed, what is to stop similar proposals being brought forward on other parcels across the precinct? We need to consider the bigger picture now, before further decisions are made.

Homes NSW says it is inviting the community to provide feedback before the design is finalised. But given the speed of the process, it is difficult not to question how much influence that feedback will actually have. Is this genuine consultation, or simply a box-ticking exercise for a decision that has already been made?

We have now also been notified that the existing car park at 2A-4 Edwin Flack Avenue will cease operating from 19 September 2026, with demolition works expected to commence in early 2027.

For the neighbouring Quest Apartments, ibis Budget, nearby residents, businesses and the broader Sydney Olympic Park precinct, this is a major concern. This car park is located at an important ingress and egress point for the precinct, and the disruption caused by its closure, demolition and subsequent construction needs to be properly considered.

This is bigger than one car park. This is bigger than 145 homes.

We need to ask what the long-term impact will be on the entire precinct.

Where is SOPA?

What is particularly disappointing is that SOPA doesn’t appear to be simply standing by and allowing this to happen, its actions give the impression that it is actually supporting it.

SOPA should be standing up for the precinct, its residents and its businesses. Instead, it appears to be supporting a proposal that could have significant consequences for the very precinct it is responsible for managing and protecting.

The decision to allow this to occur, and to sell the land to Homes NSW knowing what was intended for the site, is extremely disappointing to those of us who live, work and invest in Sydney Olympic Park.

SOPA should understand the impact this will have on surrounding businesses, accommodation providers, residents, traffic and the overall amenity of the precinct.

SOPA should be outraged.

Instead, businesses and residents are being left to deal with the consequences of decisions that could fundamentally change the character and future of Sydney Olympic Park.

SOPA is supposed to protect and manage Sydney Olympic Park. It should be fighting to preserve the precinct and advocating for the people and businesses already here, not supporting decisions that risk destroying it.

📢 COMMUNITY INFORMATION SESSION - TOMORROW

Homes NSW is holding a drop-in community information session tomorrow, Thursday 3 September, where residents and businesses can speak directly with the project team, ask questions and provide feedback.

📍 Yarra Community Centre, 10 Uhrig Road, Lidcombe
🕟 4:30pm–7:00pm

There will be no formal presentation, so please drop in at any time during the session.

If you have concerns, please turn up and make them known.

And importantly, get your formal submissions in before the cut-off. The current exhibition closes before 5pm Thursday 17 September 2026.

⚠️ Remember: opposition or concerns specifically about the proposed demolition and digging up of the existing car park must be lodged through the NSW Planning Portal. Make sure your concerns are formally submitted through the Planning Portal before the deadline.

https://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/part-5/demolition-2a-4-edwin-flack-ave-sydney-olympic-park

Please come along tomorrow, ask questions, speak up and make your concerns known. Then make sure your formal submission is lodged through the Planning Portal before 17 September.

145 homes on one parcel of land may only be the beginning. We need to ask what the future of the entire Sydney Olympic Park precinct will look like if this becomes the model for what comes next.

Sydney Olympic Park deserves better. It deserves responsible planning, genuine consultation and an Authority that actually stands up for the precinct it is responsible for.

Sign and share the petition: https://c.org/jxhr9G6zPq