Residents of a small New South Wales town are stunned by a government plan to build almost 7,000 new high-density homes as part of a plan to alleviate the state’s mass immigration-driven housing crisis.
Teralba, near Newcastle, has a population of just 2,600 people and fewer than 1,100 dwellings but has been earmarked for rezoning as part of NSW Premier Chris Minns‘ Transport Orientated Development Program.
The plan would allow 6,697 homes in developments of up to seven storeys in height to be built within 400 metres of the town’s railway station, which would add at least 11,484 new residents and push the population over 14,000 – five times what it is now.
Neighbouring Booragul, population 1,623 with just 651 dwellings according to the latest Census, has been marked down for 7,063 new homes surrounding its train station, although it does not even have a corner store, adding more than 12,000 new residents.
The impending developments would have a higher population density than New York City, London or Paris, and have shocked locals and a former mayor, who told A Current Affair that it was a “pie in the sky” plan from Sydney-based pen-pushers.
“The bureaucrats haven’t actually come up here and had a look,” former Lake Macquarie Mayor Kay Fraser said.
Teralba resident Mary Hollingworth said the plan was “terrible” and would cause the town to lose its character and that seven-storey high rises would look out of place.
But the Minns’ government plans are already having an effect, with a vacant 1,000 square-metre block recently selling for $3 million after being advertised as fitting “the state government criteria as land which is suitable to assist the housing crisis”.
“It seems to be within 400m of Teralba railway station, therefore it may be a suitable candidate for development beyond current council guidelines,” the listing said. There is currently a height limit of two storeys.
Bonnie Perry, 92, who lives near the site, was horrified by the prospect of her town becoming a high-rise area.
“It probably will happen, but I hope it’s not in my time,” she said, and a friend added that the plans were going to “totally destroy” her quiet life.
Jan Rogers said she was worried older heritages homes would be knocked down and replaced with apartment buildings: “You’ll never get this type of building back again, and it’s somebody’s home, somebody’s memories, children have been reared there. It’s memories, it’s history, and that’s what we’ve got to preserve.”
“They’re all brains and no common sense,” a different local said about the state government planners.
“That’s Sydney – if they want seven storeys, that’s fine, they can have it. But we don’t want or need seven storeys around here, that’s crazy,” another said.
At the time of the 2021 Census, Teralba was 87.6% Australian-born, far above the state average of 65.4%, with another 2.7% born in England and 1.1% in New Zealand, and there were only 7 apartments – 0.8% of the occupied private dwellings.
NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully told A Current Affair in a statement: “We are witnessing a big shift in housing needs in regional communities.
“Lake Macquarie Council predicts that by 2036, couples without children and single occupants will account for almost half of all households in the area.
“To meet that need over the next fifteen years, the TOD program is expected to deliver 170,000 well-located homes in Greater Sydney, the Hunter and the Illawarra.
“Teralba, Booragul, Cockle Creek and Cardiff were included because they have infrastructure like transport, water and sewer networks already in place to support the increase in new homes.”
Header image: Teralba with the 400 metre development zone marked around the railway station
