The Minns Labor Government is today unveiling a game-changing new precinct at Bays West – delivering up to 8,500 well-located homes, including a minimum of 10 per cent affordable and essential worker homes – directly above the new Bays West Metro Station currently under construction.
The landmark transformation will convert underutilised government-owned port land on the Harbour into Sydney’s newest suburb, while retaining important deep-water port facilities to support Sydney’s working harbour.
Located just minutes from the Sydney CBD and connected to a world-class metro, ferry, walking and cycling links, the Bays West precinct will rebalance housing growth towards well-serviced inner-city locations and help tackle the state’s housing crisis.
Affordable housing will be embedded from the outset, including dedicated homes for essential workers such as nurses, teachers, paramedics, firefighters and police so they can live closer to the communities they serve.
The precinct will combine new housing with public open space, opening public access to the waterfront for the first time in more than 100 years.
Night-time entertainment and creative industries will be anchored by the revitalisation of the historic White Bay Power Station as a cultural and community destination, connected to the harbour across a new expansive public forecourt.
Planning of the area will prioritise connectivity, including active transport links to neighbouring communities such as Rozelle, Balmain and Glebe, improved pedestrian access to the waterfront, and connections to the CBD, including an active transport link across the Glebe Island Bridge.
The Government will lead a master planning process that will include an international design competition to guide development across the precinct, ensuring homes, essential infrastructure, jobs, public spaces and transport links are delivered together.
It will be led by a new delivery agency to be established over the coming weeks, which will report to Minister Kamper who already has oversight of major precinct renewal projects including at Blackwattle Bay and Barangaroo. Once established, the publicly owned land in the precinct will be transferred to the new agency.
This is the first new suburb that has been built in inner Sydney in decades, it will see homes built alongside the Bays West Metro Station ensuring young people, families and downsizers are only minutes away from the CBD. As part of the transformation of the Bays West precinct, bulk port operations – including cement, gypsum and sugar handling – will cease on Glebe Island by no later than 2030.
The Government will work closely with industry to minimise impacts and ensure the continuity of supply. This includes a commitment of $270 million to improve road connections around the port at Port Kembla and to investigate increased rail freight capacity.
Working harbour operations across the precinct will be consolidated, mostly into White Bay, ensuring the precinct will continue to provide critical services for the harbour, including boat maintenance and marine construction and as a base for tug boats and for emergency services.
A new staging area will be established in White Bay, securing the future of the New Year’s Eve fireworks, Vivid and other major events for decades to come.
The cruise terminal will be retained in its current location, meaning tourists arriving in Sydney will be welcomed by the new precinct, with new shore-power facilities currently being installed that will reduce noise and emissions. The Sydney Heritage Fleet will also be offered new premises in White Bay.
Deep-water berths will be retained to preserve Sydney Harbour’s strategic operational capability, and the removal of the existing 1970s industrial silos, currently used as a billboard, as well as to store cement and sugar, will unlock new opportunities for public space and future housing.
By unlocking Bays West, the Minns Labor Government is delivering new homes in the right places — close to opportunity, transport and public space — while preserving Sydney Harbour as both a working and living harbour.
This builds on the additional capacity for more than 620,000 homes that is being created by the Minns Labor Government’s 68 state-led rezonings, Transport Oriented Development areas, Low and Mid-rise Housing Policy and Housing Delivery Authority.
Premier of New South Wales Chris Minns said:
“Right above a new metro station and minutes from the CBD, we’re delivering thousands of homes where people actually need them – close to work, close to services and close to transport.
“Importantly, this precinct will include affordable and essential worker housing from day one, so nurses, teachers, paramedics and police can live closer to the communities they serve.
“We understand that not everyone will welcome change, but cities don’t stand still. If Sydney is going to remain a place young people and families can afford to live in, we have to use well-located land better and plan for the future.”
Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said:
“Bays West is about putting publicly owned land to work for the people of New South Wales — delivering thousands of new homes while keeping this strategic harbour site in public hands for generations to come.
“By transforming underutilised industrial land into a vibrant housing and jobs precinct, we are boosting housing supply close to the CBD while strengthening the state’s long-term economic capacity.”
Minister for Transport, the Arts, Music and the Night Time Economy John Graham said:
“The new Bays West Metro Station will unlock this precinct for thousands of future residents, and with the White Bay Power Station at its heart it will also become one of the most exciting cultural destinations in Sydney.
“This plan strikes the right balance of building thousands of well-located homes with world-class transport, whilst maintaining a functioning working harbour.
“With the metro, ferries, walking and cycling – this will be one of the best-connected communities anywhere in Australia.”
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said:
“This is city-shaping renewal – delivering thousands of new homes alongside open space, jobs, culture and waterfront access.
“The master planning process will coordinate delivery and guide a good mix of homes and jobs, so the transition of the new precinct is smooth for industry and future residents. Importantly alongside the renewal of Glebe Island, we’re also investing $270 million in transport infrastructure to accommodate additional activity and support more jobs at Port Kembla port.”
Minister for Lands and Property Steve Kamper said:
“This is exactly the kind of development Sydney needs, well-designed homes in a central location, close to public transport, jobs, entertainment and essential services.
“If we want Sydney to stay liveable and affordable, we need to be bold about using underutilised government-owned land to deliver homes for the future.”
Minister for Housing and Homelessness Rose Jackson said:
“We want Sydney to remain a city where nurses, teachers, hospitality workers and young families can afford to live.
“That’s why affordable and essential worker housing will be built into this precinct from the beginning, not treated as an afterthought.
“This is about opening Sydney Harbour to more people and giving the next generation a fair chance to live close to opportunity.”