8 September 2022 Mr Paolo Polimeni

Paolo0401@gmail.com

Dear Paolo
Cr Donna Davis Lord Mayor
Thank you for your email dated 23 August 2022 and the attached petition regarding the planning process for Wentworth Point. The concerns raised are duly noted and I am happy to meet with you to discuss the matter.

In the meantime, for background, please find below, information that has been supplied by Council staff.

Wentworth Point Peninsula – Planning process

There are currently two active development projects on the land in the Wentworth Point Peninsula that is owned by Transport for NSW (TfNSW) as follows:

The approved Peninsula Park at 9 Burroway Road. The approved proposal is for a 3.9 hectare park that includes a playground, amenities facilities, exercise hubs and shared paths. Council is advocating for its delivery in accordance with the approval; and
A State Significant Development (SSD) application for a public high school (currently under assessment by the Department of Planning and Environment (DPE)).

There is currently no proposal formally lodged to date that seeks residential towers as part of the TfNSW owned land in the Wentworth Point Peninsula.
2.
Should any proposal be lodged with Council, it will be subject to a detailed planning assessment in accordance with the following process:

A assessment report will be provided to the City of Parramatta Local Planning Panel (LPP) with a recommendation to proceed with or refuse the proposal.
Any comments made by the LPP will be addressed in a report to Council seeking a resolution to proceed with or refuse the proposal.
Should Council resolve to proceed, the proposal is sent to DPE who will decide whether or not to issue a Gateway determination which would then enable the proposal to proceed to public exhibition.
Should a Gateway determination be issued by DPE, the proposal would be placed on public exhibition in accordance with the Gateway determination whereby the community can review the proposal and make written submissions.
Following public exhibition, the submissions are considered in a further assessment report that is provided to the LPP.
Any comments made by the LPP are subsequently addressed in a report to Council seeking a final determination on the proposal.
Should Council resolve to support the proposal, it would then be sent to DPE for finalisation.

The ultimate decision as to whether or not the proposal is approved rests with DPE and not with Council.

The table below indicates the key steps in the planning proposal process.
It is understood that Landcom are preparing a proposal on behalf of TfNSW to include residential development on their site but that this will not be included on land required for the Peninsula Park itself.
3.
City of Parramatta - Representations

Further, on 11 July 2022, Council considered a Notice of Motion for the Preservation of Publicly Owned Land at Wentworth Point for Open Space and Recreation, and resolved, in summary, to advocate for the conversion of the TfNSW land to be used as public open space rather than for redevelopment. Council resolved to do this in order to improve the availability and quality of public open space for the Wentworth Point community. A link to the Council resolution can be found here (refer to page 21): Minutes of Council - Monday, 11 July 2022 (nsw.gov.au)

Landcom has also been contracted by TfNSW to deliver the Peninsula Park and Council officers have been working with them to ensure the requirement to deliver the Park is met and are advocating for additional open space within Wentworth Point in accordance with this Notice of Motion. The Notice of Motion, in full, is provided at (Item 14.1): Agenda of Council - Monday, 11 July 2022 (nsw.gov.au)

In addition, on 09 May 2022, I tabled a Lord Mayor Minute advocating to the relevant Ministers and local Member of Parliament regarding the need for the urgent delivery of Peninsula Park, Wentworth Point. The Minute is available at: https://businesspapers.parracity.nsw.gov.au/Open/2022/05/OC_09052022_AGN_ 725_AT_SUP_10779_10780_10781_10783_10784_10761.PDF

Further information on the staged delivery of the park is provided by Landcom at:

https://www.landcom.com.au/places/wentworth-point/

I trust this information is of assistance. Yours sincerely

Cr Donna Davis
Lord Mayor
City of Parramatta Council