Walker Corp Plots 9000-Home Masterplan

Walker Corp has submitted plans for 9000 homes in what the developer is calling “Australia’s largest ever standalone housing development application”. 

It has lodged a concept plan and Stage 1 development application with Wollondilly Shire Council in the south-west fringe of the Greater Sydney area for the mammoth project.

The application asks for three release areas to unlock sites for the 9000 planned homes, which are aimed at families. 

The plans considered bushfire protection, flooding, koala and conservation area protection, and Walker Corp had spent $10 million on specialist consultants for technical studies, it said.

The developer would dedicate 5 million square metres of conservation land back to NSW, it said. 

According to a media statement, the plans will be put on exhibition later this year, alongside plans for $2 billion worth of infrastructure works.

As part of the masterplan, Walker will deliver water and wastewater facilities, NBN connections, as well as shops, community facilities, schools and roads, in addition to “10,000 jobs in the $1.9 billion Macarthur Business Park”. 

Walker is aiming to have the application assessed by June 2025, and once approved it will begin construction on an initial 600 housing lots as well as essential infrastructure and amenities.

The plans will be subject to the Greater Macarthur Structure Plan, the Precinct Plan and the Development Control Plan, and additional development applications will be submitted to guide open space and staged development. 

Public consultation on the precinct structure plans and application will be open in November. 

The latest plans were part of Walker’s Future Appin project, which would deliver 13,000 homes in the Great Macarthur area over the next 20 years, it said, alongside four new schools and a business park.

▲ Walker Corp’s announcement emphasised communal amenities, conservation and employment opportunities.

The plans, if approved, will put a dent in the NSW Government’s housing targets towards the National Housing Accord, which promise 377,000 across the state by 2029.

Wollondilly itself has a five-year housing target of 5500, with a population of 57,616 currently. 

It is part of the South West Subregion which is expected to grow by an additional 325,850 people by 2031.

Despite challenging headwinds, Walker Corp has been pushing projects forward including a reworked skyscraper plan for Adelaide, although its Toondah Harbour development in Queensland was scuppered this year by the Federal Government and the developer ended up withdrawing its $1.3 billion project.