Wollondilly Shire Council has a vision to support residential neighbourhoods with infrastructure, commercial spaces and employment areas, and has now endorsed a number of Planning Cells for South Wilton to be placed on public exhibition.

The draft Planning Cells take in the fragmented land within the state mandated Wilton Growth Area that is not already held in singular land ownership within the four main Wilton Precincts.

This will provide an indicative land use plan to guide future landowner or proponent-led Planning Proposals; with the aim to support the housing, employment, recreation, and shopping needs of the community to create sustainable and liveable neighbourhoods.

Mayor Matt Gould said, “We know that communities need local jobs and supporting infrastructure to be healthy and thrive.”

“New residents moving into the Wilton Growth Area should have access to nearby employment opportunities so they don’t have to travel out of the area every day, which can have a big impact on health and wellbeing.”  

“I look forward to seeing people living and working in every part of Wilton with good access to community facilities, open spaces, shops, and cafes.”

South Wilton is one of the precincts in Wilton Growth Area located to the east of Hume Motorway and Picton Road interchange, excluding Bingara Gorge and South East Wilton precincts.

It also includes the employment investigation area as identified in Wilton 2040. This area was originally envisaged to be part of South East Wilton which was rezoned in 2017, however, the State Government did not incorporate the remaining land into the rezoning of South East Wilton at the time and it has been left for Council and landowners to resolve.

With ‘Cell 1’ split by Picton Road and identified as an employment sub-precinct, a mix of commercial and light industrial activities will be considered for the area, providing services such as manufacturing, wholesale trade, and large form retail trade, and taking advantage of the Picton to Wollongong transport route.

‘Cell 2’ near Hornby Street could support the Shire’s ageing population, providing opportunities for ageing in place with medium density development complemented with appropriate public spaces and recreation facilities. The Alkoomie sub-precinct near ‘Cell 3’ lends itself to becoming a small residential community in a rural setting.

Planning for ‘Cell 4’, Wilton Village, aims to protect the existing single dwelling character and landscape setting of the village. ‘Cell 5’, identified as the Peel Street surroundings, is heavily vegetated and protected koala habitat, and as such would not be developed.

The entire Wilton Growth Area includes 2,480ha of land area and aims to provide around 15,000 new homes, 15,000 jobs and associated infrastructure over the next 20 or more years.

The proposed Planning Cells have the potential to set the foundation for the employment and residential development area that will promote healthier built outcomes for the people of Wollondilly, in line with Wilton 2040.

Initial consultation with public agencies has been undertaken during to inform the draft Planning Cells and further engagement with landowners will soon commence.