Cherrybrook Station Precinct Rezoning - A Guide to Having Your Say
Submissions are due by 5pm, Friday 5th December 2025.
View documents and make your submission at https://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/draftplans/exhibition/cherrybrook-precinct-state-led-rezoning-proposal (When you go to this link, the submission link is at the bottom of the page)
You may wish to support any good points as well as objecting to the bad points.
Here are some suggestions for objections in your submission. – you may not agree with all of these points. If you want your submission to count, please try to write your objections in your own words
The proposal to build 28 storeys in the Cherrybrook Precinct is excessive. Such buildings might be acceptable in a city centre, but are completely out of place in a small suburb some 30km by road from Sydney CBD, or 30 minutes by metro.
28 storeys will dwarf and overshadow existing dwellings, and being on a ridgetop, will be highly visible. The buildings are much too tall to be screened by vegetation.
Even with rooftop solar, it is difficult to see how these buildings could contribute to a net zero emissions target. A 28-storey building cannot produce enough power for so many apartments, simply from rooftop solar.
The original 2022 proposal was for a total of 3,200 dwellings (Cherrybrook and WPHV combined) which represented approx. 7,360 additional residents over a period of 20 years.
Page 7 of the new Masterplan states that the current proposal is for a total of 10,125 dwellings (9350 additional) representing a total of 23,275 residents – this is around 3 times the size of the original proposal! This is a huge increase with very little new infrastructure to support it. This development must be reduced in size and supported by adequate infrastructure.
The new rezoning proposal increases the number of new dwellings by a factor of 2.3 in Hornsby and a factor of 3.7 in The Hills (WPHV). This unfairly targets The Hills Shire Council.
It is unclear whether or not dwelling caps have been proposed. There must be an overall dwelling cap, plus dwelling caps for each neighbourhood, and dwelling caps for each development block. If dwelling caps are not imposed, blocks such as 4A & 4B ( fig 5, page 14 of the Explanation of Intended Effect) could be covered with buildings of the maximum height, once a developer has satisfied the incentive height conditions.
The artist's impressions of the new rezoning could only be achieved if each development block has a dwelling cap.
There will be 5,085 new dwellings in Neighbourhoods 4 & 5 (West Pennant Hills) and 4,256 new dwellings in Neighbourhoods 1, 2 & 3 (Cherrybrook)- see Traffic Report, Executive Summary (i). It is expected that the 5,085 new dwellings in WPHV will result in just 432 people crossing Castle Hill Rd to use the metro on a regular basis. (Traffic Report p85). Why is our valley being destroyed for such a small number of additional metro trips?
The precinct will not contain any new schools. The nearest public schools are more than 2km from the metro station. Cherrybrook public school is already exceeding its enrolment cap. Local high schools are also already over-subscribed.
The precinct will not contain any new sportsfields. The proposal states it will give rise to 5 new fields which will be located 2km-5km from the precinct, but a site has not been identified. The location of future sportsfields does not acknowledge that this is a transport oriented development in which many residents will not have a car. Sporting fields must be located within the precinct.
(WPHV is already short of sportsfields and Hills Shire Council has always maintained there are no possible sites locally.)
Tangara, a private school for girls, occupies a large footprint in the precinct. It could be a more equitable and sustainable use of land to relocate this school outside the precinct and repurpose the buildings for a public K-12 school. This school would be within walking distance for the majority of new residents and would encourage less dependence on cars. It could also provide sportsfields within the precinct.
Much of the precinct land south of Castle Hill Rd is subject to landslip (see map on page 84 of the Masterplan) and is unsuitable for up to 19 storeys without extensive works to stabilise footings. The current system of private certifiers may not give confidence to investors that any work has been done properly. Sydney already has several empty apartment blocks, built on much easier sites, that are defective and awaiting rectification. The buildings must be reduced in height and private certifiers should not be used for buildings in landslip areas.
There will be a huge increase in traffic on already congested roads. Future planned upgrades of the intersections at Highs/County Dr/Castle Hill Rd and Coonara/Edward Bennet Drive/ Castle Hill Rd will allow increased traffic flows through WPHV.
The additional right-turn lane from Castle Hill Rd (eastbound) into Highs Rd will encourage traffic to use the WPHV rat-run in order to avoid several sets of traffic lights, including pedestrian crossings, on Castle Hill Rd.
The traffic study did not consider traffic impacts on Taylor St/Aiken Rd/Oakes Rd. See the study area map on page 3 of the ‘Traffic and Transport Study’
The traffic study is based on 3,200 new dwellings (the 2022 plan), with some discussion of 5,200 or 7,300 new dwellings, but no modelling of 9,350 additional new dwellings (the current proposal).
There is no provision for a ‘kiss and ride’ drop-off zone on the south side of Castle Hill Rd. This could be located at the north-east end of Glenhope Road and would make it easier for residents in WPHV to access the station.
There is no planned increase to the car park capacity at Cherrybrook metro.
The proposal will lead to a reduction in on-street parking. HSC plans to have timed parking on all streets within 600m of the station. THSC will extend timed parking in Glenhope Rd.
In the Town Centre, at least 60% of studios and one-bedroom apartments, and at least 30% of two-bedroom apartments will not have on-site parking. This will put even more pressure on street parking.
There is no provision for a grade separated crossing of Castle Hill Road to improve station access from the south side of Castle Hill Rd. To improve the safety of pedestrians and cyclists trying to access the station from the south, the speed limit along Castle Hill Road should be reduced within the precinct.
The government owned land in the Town Centre should provide some social housing for those who are priced out of the ‘affordable’ housing. The 10% affordable housing quota on the government owned land should be changed to 5% affordable and 5% social housing.
Some good points you may wish to support in your submission:
The development is limited to land within 400m of station
There will be increased cycle and pedestrian links
The proposal is aiming to retain and protect significant vegetation and increase the overall tree canopy
Submissions are due by 5pm, Friday 5th December 2025.
View documents and make your submission at https://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/draftplans/exhibition/cherrybrook-precinct-state-led-rezoning-proposal (When you go to this link, the submission link is at the bottom of the page)