Published in Inner West Courier, April 8 2017

CASH-strapped students would struggle to meet “affordable rents” charged by the University of Sydney in the latest proposal to build hundreds of new student lodgings at the Camperdown-Darlington campus.

The Baird Liberal Government has released its final UrbanGrowth plan for The Parramatta Rd corridor, including Camperdown. The density of the precinct will triple, but there is no new infrastructure to support these new residents.

While UrbanGrowth has scaled back their plans considerably due to strong opposition from the local community, the planned density increase is still extreme.  There are currently 720 people living in UrbanGrowth NSW’s Camperdown Precinct, and this plan will increase that to 2120.

With detailed reports of two new WestConnex interchanges in Camperdown and Rozelle due to be released soon as part of the recent approval by Planning Minister Stokes of the M4 East,  NSW Greens spokesperson on WestConnex, Jenny Leong MP, called for a complete review of the project.  

“Again we see this mega road tearing into the fabric of local communities bringing untenable numbers of vehicles and dangerous levels of concentrated pollution from tunnels directly onto RPA hospital and Sydney University at Camperdown.  

“We will be writing urgently to the Ministers for Education and
Health seeking their views on the Road Minister’s plans to
deliver a massive toll road interchange right on the doorstep of the university and the Inner West’s major hospital.