State Government to sign off on Frenchs Forest Precinct Plan

Frenchs Forest residents may finally breathe a sigh of relief, as Minister for Planning and Public Spaces and local MP Rob Stokes revealed in June the rezoning plans for the suburb should be signed off by December. 

His announcement follows years of delays with residents left in limbo as to if or when their street will be rezoned. 

The proposed Frenchs Forest Precinct Plan, in its current form, dates to 2014, however the plan has been circulated by the state government since 2010. 

It entails a three-stage process of delivering improved infrastructure and accommodation to the area around Northern Beaches Hospital, with phase one seeing a town centre erected next to the hospital before the development of up to 10,000 new homes to accommodate new residents and medical staff. 

Locals have been urging the state government to prepare and release the rezoning plans for community consultation for years, with many claiming they have been left high and dry on whether to sell or hold out for developer offers. 

Mr Stokes says the delays have predominantly been to do with the necessary relocation of Forest High School to Aquatic Drive, next door to Warringah Aquatic Centre. 

He says the final hurdle has been in ensuring road access and obtaining sporting facilities at Aquatic Reserve, which he maintains should be completed by the end of the year. 

The plans were originally scheduled to be on public exhibition in March 2018 before being pushed back multiple times to the final months of 2019.