Dear Editor,
Like many in our community, I was deeply dismayed to read the Local Planning Panel’s (LPP) advice of 30 April 2025 regarding the proposal for 1–3 Johnson Road, Galston. The Panel itself acknowledged that crucial issues remain unaddressed – yet Council, as proponent, continues to insist it has developed “urban design principles” to answer community concerns.
Residents have repeatedly voiced legitimate concerns about traffic congestion, pedestrian and child safety, biodiversity loss, stormwater and sewage management, heavy vehicle traffic movements, and the overall feasibility of the proposal. Yet the Planning Proposal offers no genuine solutions. And despite Council’s rhetoric, not one of these issues has been tackled.
The LPP advice highlighted a glaring omission:- the absence of a site-specific Development Control Plan (DCP). Without one, developers are left with near carte blanche. A DCP is essential to control-build form, protect significant vegetation (including critically endangered Sydney Turpentine–Ironbark Forest and Narrow-Leaved Scribbly Gum Woodland), safeguard public open space, and enforce sensible height and floor-space limits.
Even more alarming, Transport for NSW rejected access via Mid Dural Road on safety grounds. With an 80kph speed limit, dropping to 60kph after a bend in the road and just before the Johnson Road turn-off, it was rightly deemed unsuitable for heavy industrial traffic. But Council’s so-called “solution” is worse: an 8-metre industrial driveway opening directly onto a quiet residential street, opposite family homes.
If a major arterial road is considered unsafe, how can Johnson Road, a narrow, local street where children walk, cycle and play, possibly be the safer option? And with no meaningful traffic controls proposed, residents are not just concerned, they are outraged.
Council must start being open, honest and transparent with both the community and the Planning Panel. The LPP’s advice lays bare just how far this proposal falls short of community expectations – and why it should not proceed.
Sincerely, Ed Harrison of Johnson Road
