Precincts in West Pennant Hills

Thompson's Corner is nowhere near a train station and is hell to get in and out of because of the way Pennant Hills Rd and Castle Hill Rd now work.

I agree that this area needs to be improved but ease of access is always going to be its major problem. The road design here is largely what caused TH's decline.

Without improving access and greatly improving public transport (frequent buses and, hello! north west rail or metro) putting more dwellings here is going to only put more traffic onto already overcongested roads

I totally agree with the problems forseen by Bellinid in that Castle Hill Road, New Line Road and Pennant Hills Road aldready struggle to cope with the traffic from nearby residential zones without adding 98 new dwellings to the problem.

The Housing Strategy document itself acknowledges that the transport issues are problematic and unlikely to be solved in the near future, so why hasn't this precinct been pulled from the list or a different use considered?

My personal thoughts are that a supposed increase in the use of public transport cannot happen as the buses are already overloaded during peak times, with my husband being required to leave at 7am to even contemplate getting a seat and sometimes in the evening (he leaves work around 6.30 which in itself is towards the end of peak hour) has to wait for the next bus due to capacity fulfillment.

With an extra 98 dwellings what implication does this have for class sizes at West Pennant Hills Public School and how will it affect the current drop off/pick up zone which I have observed when passing through at 3.30 in the afternoon? Safety implications should surely be considered.

Lastly, my husband and I have just moved our family from one area of Sydney due to the high density of multi-storey dwellings being built with no supporting infrastructure. I cannot see how councillors, who are supposed to act with our best interests at heart, can advocate placing high-rise, multi-storey apartment blocks at Thompson's Corner when this is clearly not in keeping with the surrounding, bush-like, family-feel area at all. By all means update the shopping precinct, it needs it, perhaps a townhouse or low level dwelling or two could help with the population growth but keep the high-rise, inner-city, crowded in feeling where it belongs.

The 'header' on this says that Council is trying to encourage more housing close to shops and train stations in West Pennant Hills. Have I missed something...where is the train station in West Pennant Hills?

As local residents we are all aware that the primary concern with any proposed increased density of development will be the resultant exacerbation in the traffic gridlock which we witness every working day at peak times during term time, with all vehicles feeding from Castle Hill Road, New Line Road and Church Street having to merge to a single lane in the underpass which then slowly trickles onto Pennant Hills Road, en-route to the M2. Part of this problem is the school drop-off and pick-up, which would certainly not be eased by reducing the amount of parking available within this Precinct.

Unfortunately the dilemma faced by all local Councils is that they have been presented with the unenviable task of accommodating the projected population growth which the State Government predict will be required over the next 10 years.

The 'Strategy' which Hornsby Shire Council have formulated may well have merit in terms of achieving the numbers (on paper), but the reality of the Thompsons Corner Precinct is that there are reportedly 29 properties and this means a similar number of property owners, each with their own agenda and expectation in terms of what their property is worth. This probably means that nothing much will happen despite the proposed re-zoning and the sad state of affairs which is evident in this high profile location will probably prevail for years to come.

Sadly the big infrastructure issues which should go hand in hand with increased population densities are constantly being pushed to the back of the queue, of flicked into the too-hard-basket. The frustration of dealing with the NSW State Government is not dealing with the lesser of two evils, but dealing with the evil of two lessers!

I would agree with the other commentators that any development at Thompsons Corner would be unsuccessful unless the question of public transport, particularly rail transport, is addressed.

Early proposals for the North West Rail Link considered the provision of a station at Thompsons Corner, but this was rejected on the grounds that the tunnels there were too deep.

I find this reason puzzling, as Hampstead station on London's Northern Line would be almost as deep, and it has now been operating without problems for 102 years.

The sort of development that I think would succeed at Thompsons Corner would be one similar to that above Edgecliff station. The provision of a shopping complex, with office and residential accommodation above, together with the usual underground car park and a station on the NWRL, would allow residents and students from the public school easy access in an environmentally friendly way. If the train station exited into the car park the depth to the train would be less than Hampstead. The construction of the Blacktown to Kariong bypass would be another essential extra, as it would remove much of the truck traffic from Pennant Hills Road.

Simply creating more dwellings without improving transport access is a recipe for disaster.

I think this is the worst place to put housing in the Shire. It is surrounded by busy roads creating a significant air and noise pollution risk for any residents. There is no foreseeable reduction in the traffic on these roads, and most likely an increase can be expected. With its poor public transport service it adds up to a poor site to put a lot of people. The additional traffic generated would be an unfair burden on established residential areas of Church Street & Cardinal Avenue.

Hey all residents of West Pennant Hills!

Council has publicly confirmed (and defended their decision)that Thompson's Corner was chosen not because it is near a train station but because it is on a BUS ROUTE! How long does it take on an M2 city bus service to get into the City during peak hour???? And back home? Are the buses ever too full?

Did you know that you have a very good public transport service? Do you agree with this? Do you think this was a reasonable decision?

Who wrote the strategy?? I ask how can (for example), the Hornsby precinct of Belair Close with an area of about 11,922SQM with 5 Storey based facilities provide for 75 Dwellings (about 159SQM per Dwelling) and a 'moderate number of top shop housing' allow 98 Dwellings at Thompson's Corner; (within 16,258SQM; ONLY about 166SQM per Dwelling), without any 'commercial' space ??

What more 'traffic modelling' is needed? Don't we all know it's permanently congested? ETC..

Living in the immediate area for over twenty five years now, Thompsons Corner is a disaster and has been for years. With the states population growth estimates and HSC requirement to the NSW SG to plan for this, I can't think of a better place for redevelopment. I can think of plenty worse.

Hopefully following successful development, a village environment can be created sustaining a variety of smaller business and a vastly improved Coles.

As for the Public Transport issues - 2011 is the year.

Good Idea - Bring it on.

Page 2 of today's (11/05/09) SMH - PLANNING COUP FOR DEVELOPERS. Dept of Planning has been overhauled so that senior staff who were not sympathetic enough to developers have been given the boot, thus paving the way for developers to maraud Sydney like visigoths.

Check it out!

The Thornleigh Normanhurst Residents Group has arranged a public meeting to discuss implications of the strategy for the Thornleigh area.

Thornleigh Community Centre, corner Phyllis and Central Avenue Thornleigh, Friday 12th June - 8pm ~ 10pm.