Today I speak about the future of Brookvale, one of the most important urban renewal opportunities on the northern beaches, and the very real risk that this vision is being undermined. Brookvale is not just an industrial precinct. It is an accessible, evolving centre with the capacity to deliver more housing, more jobs and a better quality of life for my community. That is exactly what the Brookvale Structure Plan sets out to achieve. It is a comprehensive, evidence-based strategy backed by 15 technical studies, all required by the planning department, and years of work by Northern Beaches Council, which has even been supported with Federal funding.
The plan was publicly exhibited in 2022, endorsed by council in 2023 and is now progressing through the detailed planning phase dictated by the planning department. This great plan delivers up to 1,350 new homes, including more diverse and affordable housing; supports around 900 new jobs; creates a new town centre, anchored by the B-Line; delivers a 5,000 square metre town square, with green space and community facilities; and improves walking and cycling connections across the precinct. Importantly, it does all of this in a way that carefully balances growth with the capacity of local infrastructure, especially the transport network.
Anyone who knows Brookvale—indeed, anyone who knows the northern beaches—knows that congestion is already a serious issue. The balance in the plan is critical. It is based on detailed modelling—which the Government paid for, particularly the transport stuff—not guesswork. But that balance is now at risk. Scentre Group has lodged a proposal under the Housing Delivery Authority [HDA] pathway to redevelop Warringah Mall with around 1,500 dwellings across eight blocks and towers up to 39 storeys. To put that in perspective, that is more than the total housing uplift envisaged for the entire Brookvale Structure Plan, based on studies required by the planning department for councils to enable housing.
Some additional housing on the mall site is appropriate, and it is included in the Brookvale Structure Plan, but a proposal of this scale fundamentally changes the equation. If one site consumes such a large share of the precinct's growth capacity, it leaves very little room for the broader, coordinated renewal that the structure plan is designed to deliver. Instead of a revitalised precinct, we risk a highly uneven outcome, with growth concentrated on a single site and the rest of Brookvale left behind. That is not good planning. It also undermines council's ability to secure the infrastructure contributions needed to support that growth, whether that is public space, community facilities or basic transport improvements because, under the HDA pathway, much of that leverage is lost. That raises a broader issue. The Housing Delivery Authority was intended to unlock housing where councils were not progressing planning, but that is not the case here. It never has been. Northern Beaches Council has been proactive. It has done the strategic work, worked alongside the planning department and has been progressing the rezoning by the Government's rules.
We need to ask what message that sends, because if councils that invest time, effort and resources into good, precinct-level planning can have that work overridden by a single site proposal, why would they bother doing any of the strategic planning? Indeed, it is over $1 million in cash just for reports. Let's not talk about the resources and the staff required over the past few years. Why would any council in New South Wales do the hard work of strategic planning if it can be so easily disrupted? That is a real concern. Good planning is not just about delivering more housing; it is about delivering the right housing in the right places supported by the right infrastructure. That requires coordination, sequencing and a respect for the strategic planning process. That is exactly what the Brookvale Structure Plan represents, and it was being done alongside the planning department.
Today I am calling on the Government, and in particular the planning department, which advises the Government, to work with council and not around it. That will ensure that any development at Warringah Mall is considered in the context of the broader precinct and that growth is distributed in a way that supports the whole of Brookvale, not just one site. It will also ensure that the infrastructure needed to support that growth is properly funded and delivered. I am taking these concerns directly to the planning Minister, as well as the Premier, and we will keep the community updated. I just point out again that these reports are required by council because of what the State Government's planning department requires them to do but that can be bypassed by this HDA proposal. It can suck the life out of the rest of the suburb, and it can happen anywhere. It can happen in Gosford, where there is a lot of good planning and strategic planning happening. It can happen there and it can happen anywhere. The council has been working with and wants to continue to work with government for the right outcomes for its community.
19 March 2026, 17:06.