St John’s Anglican Cathedral in Sydney’s “second CBD” has overcome a major hurdle, in progressing a $400m plan to build a pair of towers in the middle of the city centre.
Look to the left as you go down Church Street from the railway station and the massive Parramatta Square development, which includes a campus of the University of Western Sydney. The low-rise historic Town Hall flanks a square formed by the tall towers.
In the future, the sandstone Cathedral will have its own square, nestled by similar-sized 45-story towers if you look to the right.
On Monday night the Parramatta council finally voted to give the Cathedral the same opportunities the council had given itself in developing Parramatta Square. The public will enjoy the space around the Cathedral, just as they have just discovered the opened-up area next to the Town Hall.
The Cathedral plans were first lodged in 2018, with last night’s vote caused by a recession motion after the council had already voted yes to the plans which require a re-zoning. The Labor-dominated council was split, but a clear majority has voted yes. twice. The council vote means the plans now go to the NSW Department of Planning for finalisation.
An issue raised by opponents, according to a Sydney Morning Herald report is the “social covenants” imposed by the Anglicans. these include a ban on gambling, abortion and same-sex marriage. and the sale of weapons.
Observers with a long memory will remember the development of St Andrews Cathedral property in the centre of Sydney. The Cathedral was restricted to developing a relatively low-rise building, that houses the cathedral Scool and offices. Immediately after on it’s property next door, the Sydney City council built a much taller building.
This time around, a Cathedral’s property development gets equal treatment with what a council has done.
Image: the proposed towers with st john’s Parramatta in the centre. The tall towers beyond the Cathedral are part of Parramatta square