source : the age
City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore has accused the NSW government of attempting to block a controversial $150 million plan to raze seven buildings for a new civic square, after Planning Minister Paul Scully sought independent advice on whether he should seize control of the project.
Citing the cost and prominent location of the council’s long-vaunted Town Hall square, Scully on Wednesday intervened by referring the project to the NSW Independent Planning Commission for advice on whether it should be declared “state significant” development decided by the government.
“The proposal, as it stands, would have significant impact on the commercial heart of Sydney’s CBD, requiring the demolition of seven buildings and an expenditure of at least $150 million in ratepayer funds,” Scully said.
The move prompted a fiery response from Moore, who said she was “shocked and disappointed” by the Minns government’s “extraordinary and highly unusual intervention in established planning processes”, which she was concerned “could delay or even block the Town Hall Square project”.
Their remarks set the stage for a showdown between Moore’s council and the Minns government over the square – which was first proposed in the 1980s – in the run-up to the March state election.
For the past three decades, the council has been gradually acquiring a parcel of properties between George and Pitt streets opposite Town Hall, which it has hoped would eventually constitute a rare public domain in the centre of the city.
The council in February voted to accelerate demolition of the buildings, including Woolworths supermarket, stating its ambition to complete demolition and construction within about six years.
Moore said Scully had not raised any concerns when the council briefed him on the project in 2025, and the government had approved its acquisition of the final property needed to deliver the square.
“Against that history, the timing and nature of [this] intervention inevitably raises questions, particularly as political attention begins to turn towards the next state election,” Moore said.
“If the government ultimately uses its powers to stop this project rather than simply scrutinise it, that would be a deeply concerning and regressive intervention in the delivery of important public infrastructure.”
Scully has powers under the NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act to declare a project as state significant if he has received and made public advice from the IPC about the state or regional planning significance of the proposal. He said the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure would prepare an assessment report on the square for the commission.
Moore said the council was still reviewing directions issued to the council, which would prevent it from determining demolition orders or development applications for the project, and what they would mean for the square’s delivery timeframe. The project was estimated for completion in 2031.
Moore said the project would be assessed by an independent planner and determined by the Central Sydney Planning Committee, most members of which have been appointed by the state government.
“Any suggestion that council had a conflict of interest or isn’t managing approval appropriately is incorrect. We remain confident in the merits of the proposal and see no planning reason why it should not ultimately be supported,” Moore said.
In August, the council revealed designs for the 4200-square-metre plaza, prepared by Sydney design practice JPW and landscape architects ASPECT Studios, featuring eucalypts, moving water, seating and circular paving patterns to provide an outdoor venue for large events and celebrations including markets, festivals, concerts and sports event live-sites. The square would have an Aboriginal name.
The proposal to demolish the buildings for the square has triggered a wave of opposition from the Business NSW lobby group, Woolworths and The Daily Telegraph.
Business NSW executive director Paul Nicolaou said the government had “made the right call in putting the brakes on the City of Sydney’s plan to demolish seven buildings in the commercial heart of the CBD in favour of a controversial Town all square that would cost a minimum $150 million”.
Nicolaou said the plaza concept “might have been a nice-to-have when it was first mooted more than 30 years ago”, but it was “not the right project amid the economic realities of 2026”.
“The $150 million could be directed to more important needs including crisis accommodation for the hundreds of people sleeping rough in our city every night or living in encampments on our streets.”
The Independent Planning Commission was formed in 2018 to decide, and provide advice on, the state’s most complex and contentious developments. In 2019, a three-member panel killed off The Star’s $530 million plan to build a 66-storey hotel and apartment tower above its Pyrmont casino.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
