Sydney removes parking minimums for 400m radius around Metro West stations

The City of Sydney Council voted on 7 July to amend its Development Control Plan, removing mandatory car parking minimums for new residential projects located within walking distance of the Metro West line stations at Pyrmont and Ultimo. The changes apply to all development applications lodged after 1 August 2026 and affect sites previously required to provide at least one space per dwelling.

The vote follows the state government's release of updated station precinct plans in May, which identified capacity for an additional 4500 dwellings along the line by 2032. Council officers cited the need to align local controls with those state documents to avoid conflicting conditions on the same sites.

How the rule change reaches individual households

For residents seeking to buy or rent in Pyrmont, the shift means developers can submit plans without allocating space for resident parking, reducing the overall floor area and construction cost passed on to buyers. In Ultimo, blocks near the future station entrance that previously faced rejection over parking shortfalls can now proceed to assessment on other planning grounds such as height and setbacks. Local real estate agents have noted that similar reductions in other inner-city precincts have lowered average apartment prices by between 4 and 7 per cent compared with projects still carrying full parking obligations.

The council report tabled at the meeting states that the amendments are expected to support 1200 additional dwellings in the two suburbs over the next five years, based on current application volumes. It also records that the City of Sydney currently receives 85 development applications per year that include a parking waiver request; the new rules will remove the need for those separate applications.

Immediate effects on services and daily movement

Existing residents in the affected streets will see no immediate change to on-street parking permits, which remain governed by the separate Resident Parking Scheme. However, the planning document projects that reduced on-site parking will increase demand for the council's existing car-share bays and for improved bus connections to the future Metro stations. The council has allocated $2.1 million in the 2026-27 budget for additional car-share infrastructure in Pyrmont and Ultimo.

Applications already in the system will continue under the previous controls. The amended plan will be exhibited for 28 days before final gazettal, after which the changes become operational for all new lodgements.