Georges River Council learnt on Friday that the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI) has put the Beverly Hills Town Centre (West) State-Assessed Rezoning Policy (SARP) proposal on public display.
This proposal is for 407-511 King Georges Road, Beverly Hills. This exhibition runs until 5.00pm on 21 August 2026.
Council planning staff were advised by the DPHI on 14 July 2026 that the exhibition was imminent for late July or early August. Council asked DPHI to reconsider the timing of the State-led exhibition as Council’s draft Beverly Hills Master Plan is going to a Council meeting in August with public exhibition planned for late September.
Georges River Council Mayor Elise Borg said the request was meant to allow time for our residents and businesses to review the draft Master Plan which was scheduled to be endorsed at the Environment and Planning Committee on 10 August 2026. However, DPHI did not agree to this request.
“We are frustrated by the absence of transparency and collaboration in this process. This is especially disappointing as Council has worked hard with the community to create a vision for Beverly Hills and satisfy all of the NSW Planning technical requirements,” said Mayor Borg.
“Planning for the town centre should connect with and be guided by local government strategic planning efforts, not a developer-initiated turned State-led planning proposal.
“The SARP proposal is focused on one side of King Georges Road for development and does not consider the whole town centre.
“The community is now being asked to consider two separate strategic plans for the same area that do not align. Council’s draft Master Plan for Beverly Hills takes into consideration the wholistic needs of the community, local businesses, and visitors to the area.
“Also, Council’s draft Master Plan has been prepared by independent planning experts on behalf of the community and considers the future of the entire Beverly Hills town centre. By comparison, the exhibited State-led proposal has been prepared for a narrow set of private landowners and focuses on a limited number of sites rather than the broader needs of the overall town centre,” said Mayor Borg.
Council staff will now assess the SARP proposal. They will analyse how it differs from the planning directions in the draft Beverly Hills Master Plan.
Mayor Borg asks residents to check the State-led exhibition material and give their feedback to DPHI.
DPHI will hold a community drop-in information session on Tuesday, 5 August 2026. It will run from 5.00pm to 8.00pm at the Blackshaw Gould Community Pavilion, 34 Dora Street, Hurstville. Residents will be able to speak directly with Department staff and ask questions about the proposal.
To sign up for the State-led drop-in session, visit the registration webpage.
You can view the exhibition documents on the NSW Planning Portal. Submissions are open until 5.00pm on 21 August 2026.
To learn more about the background of this planning proposal, visit Council’s Planning Proposals webpage.
