Sydney will get its first new inner city suburb \u2013 known as Bays West \u2013 in decades, giving public waterfront access to Glebe Island for the first time in more than 100 years alongside 8,500 new homes.<\/p>\n
The New South Wales<\/a> government on Tuesday announced that a long-awaited overhaul of the government-owned land, directly above the under-construction Bays Metro station and near the western end of the Anzac Bridge, will go ahead.<\/p>\n sydney<\/a><\/p>\n It means Sydneysiders will farewell Glebe Island\u2019s distinctive 1970s industrial silos as part of the \u201ccity-shaping\u201d transformation, which will open up the long-underused site, stretching from Rozelle Bay to White Bay, 2km from the CBD.<\/p>\n Ten per cent, or at least 700, of its new homes will be affordable and earmarked for essential workers, while 25% of the land will be given to open space. It will remain in public hands. Affordable housing is generally defined as housing that costs less than 30% of a household\u2019s gross income.<\/p>\n An artist\u2019s impression of the planned precinct around the closed White Bay Power Station. Photograph: New South Wales government<\/p>\n The premier, Chris Minns, said the government hoped the site would offer a place that is close to work, services and transport for new residents.<\/p>\n \u201cImportantly, 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,\u201d Minns said.<\/p>\n To make way for the homes, Glebe Island\u2019s cement, gypsum and sugar handling will close by 2030, with the state government putting $270m into transport infrastructure at Port Kembla port, south of Sydney.<\/p>\n Deep water port facilities, with the potential to accommodate naval ships, will be kept at White Bay, to which some Glebe Island port operations will be relocated, including the handling of salt. The White Bay cruise terminal \u2013 used for ships that can pass under the Harbour Bridge \u2013 will remain.<\/p>\n Under the plans, White Bay Power Station will be made into a cultural and community destination and a new staging area will be built in White Bay for New Year\u2019s Eve fireworks, Vivid festival and other major events.<\/p>\n A delivery agency will be set up in the coming weeks to oversee the rezoning, port and development processes.<\/p>\n The announcement comes decades after the Bays Precinct Taskforce was first convened in 2007 to assess future uses of the area. The site has long been mooted as a potential location for new homes<\/a> that are hoped to ease the state\u2019s housing crisis.<\/p>\n The Glebe Island site. Chris Minns says \u2018we have to use well-located land better\u2019. Photograph: New South Wales govenrment<\/p>\n