Minister halts square project opposite Sydney Town Hall — ABC News Australia
New South Wales Planning Minister Paul Scully has ordered work on Sydney’s A$150 million Town Hall Square project to be suspended. As ABC News Australia reports, the project is to be considered by the Independent Planning Commission.
On Thursday, Scully issued a direction to the City of Sydney council preventing it from making decisions on development applications or demolition orders within the project area. The minister believes the initiative may meet the definition of a project of state or regional significance because of its cost and the planned demolition of buildings important in cultural and commercial terms.
Square opposite Town Hall
The City of Sydney council planned to create a 4,500-square-metre public square opposite Town Hall. It was envisaged as a space for public events, music events and markets.
The square plans were put out for public consultation in early August. The published renderings show an open space with a water feature and a curved grove of native trees.
In February, the council unanimously supported continuing the design and construction of the square, as well as accelerating the demolition of structures on sites the city had been purchasing since the 1980s. The project was planned for completion in 2031.
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Sydney Deputy Lord Mayor Jess Miller called the minister’s decision regrettable. She said the city would need new public squares due to expected population growth and that the project had been in preparation for a long time.
Dispute over jobs
The retail workers’ union opposed the demolition of seven buildings, including a Woolworths supermarket, retail premises and a pub. It says that 1,000 jobs could be at risk, including about 300 at Woolworths and Big W in the corner building.
Bernie Smith, New South Wales secretary of the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association, said that, to their knowledge, there is currently no suitable premises to relocate the store while retaining all jobs. Miller responded that the supermarket could find another location about 200 metres away and that the jobs would not disappear.
Business Sydney chief executive Paul Nicolaou also opposed the project, calling the supermarket the only full-line one in Sydney’s central business district. Both Nicolaou and Smith supported referring the project to the Independent Planning Commission for assessment.
