North South Rail Line and South West Rail Link Extension Corridors – Draft
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North South Rail Line and South West Rail Link Extension Corridors Draft Strategic Environmental Assessment Transport for NSW 31 January 2018 Document control record Document prepared by: Aurecon Australasia Pty Ltd Ethos Urban Pty Ltd ABN 54 005 139 873 ABN 13 615 087 931 Level 5, 116 Military Road 173 Sussex Street Neutral Bay NSW 2089 Sydney NSW 2000 PO Box 538 Neutral Bay NSW 2089 Australia +61 2 9465 5599 T T +61 2 9956 6962 F +61 2 9465 5598 E [email protected] E [email protected] W aurecongroup.com W ethosurban.com A person using Aurecon documents or data accepts the risk of: a) Using the documents or data in electronic form without requesting and checking them for accuracy against the original hard copy version. b) Using the documents or data for any purpose not agreed to in writing by Aurecon. Document control Report title Draft Strategic Environmental Assessment Document ID n/a Project number 240625 Client Transport for NSW Client contact Helen Borland Client reference Rev Date Revision Author Reviewer Verifier Approver details/status (if required) 0 20 December 2017 Working draft TW, SC CM CM 1.0 31 January 2018 Draft for public TW, SC CM CM exhibition Current revision 1.0 Approval Author signature Approver signature Name Simon Cornell Name Carolyn McCallig Title Manager, Environment & Title Director, Environment & Planning Planning Project 240625 File NSRL_Draft SEA_180131.docx 31 January 2018 Revision 1.0 Page 2 Executive summary Transport for NSW proposes to protect two rail corridors in western Sydney for future rail infrastructure for passenger train services. The recommended North South Rail Line corridor would connect the T1 Western Line near St Marys and T8 South Line near Macarthur via the future Western Sydney Airport site. The recommended South West Rail Link Extension corridor would extend from Leppington Station to Badgerys Creek Aerotropolis, to connect with the recommended North South Rail Line corridor. The recommended North South Rail Line corridor and South West Rail Link Extension corridor are shown in Figure E-1. The recommended corridors are critical to meeting the New South Wales (NSW) Government’s ambitions for a ‘30-minute city’ in which people have access by public transport to education, jobs and services within 30 minutes regardless of where they live. The future North South Rail Line and South West Rail Link Extension infrastructure would connect residents in the emerging suburbs of the South West Growth Area with jobs and services in the new Western Economic Corridor, future Western Sydney Airport site, Western Sydney Airport – Badgerys Creek Aerotropolis, Liverpool, Greater Penrith, Campbelltown–Macarthur and Western Sydney Employment Area. Investigations have been undertaken for the North South Rail Line and South West Rail Link Extension to identify suitable corridors of land to accommodate new railway infrastructure in the future. The purpose of this draft Strategic Environmental Assessment is to provide an assessment of the strategic impacts and benefits of providing future public transport infrastructure in the recommended corridors, as well as an assessment of the benefits of protecting the corridors now. The draft Strategic Environmental Assessment has been prepared in accordance with the Department of Planning and Environment’s Planning Guideline for Major Infrastructure Corridors. The assessment has been undertaken to inform the process of corridor protection in statutory environmental planning instruments, which will be requested to be carried out by the Department of Planning and Environment. This draft Strategic Environmental Assessment is not an application for approval to build or operate any transport infrastructure within the recommended corridors. Rather, it is intended only to support the statutory process of protecting land so that it is available when required in the future for potential public transport use. At the time of rail infrastructure delivery, an environmental impact statement for the proposed project would be prepared in accordance with the relevant environmental planning and approvals legislation. Project 240625 File NSRL_Draft SEA_180131.docx 31 January 2018 Revision 1.0 Page 3 Figure E-1 The recommended North South Rail Line and South West Rail Link Extension corridors Project 240625 File NSRL_Draft SEA_180131.docx 31 January 2018 Revision 1.0 Page 4 Need for the recommended corridors As western Sydney transitions through the emergence of the Western Parkland City into a Metropolitan City Cluster, the Western City District’s population will grow by around 464,000 people. As documented in the Draft Western City District Plan (Greater Sydney Commission 2017b), this equates to an additional 184,500 homes required in the District by 2036. Together with the Central River City around Greater Parramatta, these two districts will grow by more than one million people over the next 20 years. Much of the Western City District’s future growth will be focused on the existing centres of Greater Penrith, Liverpool and Campbelltown–Macarthur. As part of this growth there is a commitment from the Australian Government to build a new Western Sydney Airport, which is expected to commence operations in 2026. The Western Sydney Airport will be the catalyst for a new Western Economic Corridor around the Western Sydney Airport – Badgerys Creek Aerotropolis, which is anticipated to provide unprecedented economic opportunities for western Sydney. With the anticipated population growth in western Sydney, improved transport connections are required to enable the NSW Government’s vision for a 30-minute city, where people live within 30 minutes of their jobs, education and health facilities, services and great places. The North South Rail Line and South West Rail Link Extension will be key north-south and east-west transport links that will connect people to jobs and places and provide greater education, employment and business opportunities to support the Western Economic Corridor. The need for the recommended corridors is also underpinned by the Draft Greater Sydney Region Plan (Greater Sydney Commission 2017a) and the Draft Future Transport Strategy 2056 (Transport for NSW 2017). It is important to ensure that appropriate provisions are made now to meet the future transport needs of not only western Sydney but also the wider Greater Sydney Region. Integrated transport planning decisions are required that consider the long-term requirements for both land use and transport. Identifying and protecting the recommended North South Rail Line and South West Rail Link Extension corridors now will make the best use of government resources by ensuring that sufficient land is available in the future for construction of rail infrastructure when it is needed. Given the rapid expansion of development in western Sydney, early protection of corridors is vital to ensure that there is sufficient land available in the future when the construction of railway infrastructure is required. Corridor protection will inform future land use planning, minimise acquisition costs, avoid redundant development and enable consideration of the future rail infrastructure during land use planning so that impacts can be avoided, or appropriate mitigation measures can be implemented. Protection of the recommended corridors also provides opportunities for land use and economic development that would perhaps not otherwise be realised. Additionally, protecting the recommended corridors now will reduce disruption to communities and businesses in the future when the infrastructure is constructed. The benefits of corridor protection are further reiterated in Infrastructure Australia’s Australian Infrastructure Plan and Corridor Protection: Planning and investing for the long term. Identifying and protecting corridors for the recommended North South Rail Line and South West Rail Link Extension corridors is an important opportunity to undertake before development in the region reduces future opportunities for such a piece of infrastructure. It would also provide clarity for the Department of Planning and Environment, councils and developers, and provide greater certainty for existing and future residents in the area. Protection of the recommended North South Rail Line and South West Rail Link Extension corridors represents an integrated transport solution that balances infrastructure benefits and opportunities with land use and environmental impacts and meets the stated objectives of Australian and NSW strategic policies. Protecting the recommended North South Rail Line and South West Rail Link Extension corridors well in advance of their construction would: . Protect land from development that might preclude future rail infrastructure, or make it more difficult and/or expansive to build when it is required Project 240625 File NSRL_Draft SEA_180131.docx 31 January 2018 Revision 1.0 Page 5 . Provide residents, employers, councils, landowners, developers and Government agencies with greater confidence that transport infrastructure can be built, and more certainty about where it will be located, so that new development can be planned around it . Assist in the long-term planning of transport services and rolling stock investments . Ensure that town centres and other employment centres are located and planned to optimise their access to public transport . Allow appropriate land use restrictions and setbacks to be built into master plans and design codes to reduce potential noise and other environmental impacts