Ace History Desk – In short: Locals in Western Sydney are trying to save the 130-year-old former Jamisontown Uniting Church from demolition, as a sale is under negotiation for possible residential development.

Locals fear Jamisontown church will be bulldozed to build new homes

In Sydney’s inner west, a sharehouse of five benefit from affordable rent by living in a decommissioned church built in the 1800s. 

An overhaul of NSW planning rules around places of public worship could unlock more than 20,000 homes in well-located metropolitan suburbs.

Residents in Western Sydney fear 130 years of history will be erased if a 19th century church is bulldozed to build new homes.

Church land is becoming an increasingly viable option to build much-needed new homes in New South Wales.

Since May last year, a church that once serviced generations of weddings, funerals and public worship has sat vacant on a suburban street in Jamisontown.

To the dismay of some locals, the former Jamisontown Uniting Church was put for up for auction last month, advertised as a “rare” opportunity for medium density development with “the potential for townhouses, villas or multi-dwelling housing”.

The sales listing was quietly taken offline on Wednesday and a deal was under negotiation.

Residents like Amanda Davis feared the church would be bulldozed and 130 years of history erased from the community.

“One of our campaigners called the real estate agent, who was forthcoming with the information, that because the church isn’t heritage listed it could be bulldozed,” she told the ABC.

“There’s plenty of land around the church that they could use instead, if they wanted to build something on it.”

Jamisontown Uniting Church has been shuttered for nearly a year.  (ABC News: Timothy Ailwood)normal

But in NSW there are stringent planning rules in place which prevent housing from being built on existing land zoned as SP2 — Place of Public Worship.

Generally, under the planning category, faith-based sites like churches, mosques and synagogues cannot build on their land without going through a lengthy application process on a state and local government level.

Analysis by UrbanBio for Faith Housing Australia, conducted in June last year, identified 747 faith-owned sites that could support well-located housing.

In the Sydney metro area alone, under-utilised church land could yield more than 20,000 homes if SP2 zoning laws were to be relaxed, the audit found. 

Unlocking church land for housing

Faith Housing Australia chief executive, Amanda Bailey, told the ABC it was in consultation with the NSW government to streamline the SP2 planning proposal process and that conversations had been “productive”.

‘There is a really strong connection between the mission of local congregations to support their local communities and the current needfor housing,” she said.

Under-utilised church land could yield thousands of homes.  (ABC News: David Lewis)normal

Ms Bailey said faith-based organisations were also working with the community on how to conserve history and simultaneously provide safe and secure housing.

“Places of worship are places of joy and they offer a great antidote to social isolation and supporting social cohesion as well, and so we’d love to see that history, that tradition continued,” she said. 

“We’re asking our members to think about the narrative history of that site, why it was originally, secured, what it’s been doing over this time and how they can continue that story into the future — and we think housing is a really important part of that.”

Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Paul Scully, said the Housing Delivery Authority (HDA) has declared a number of sites proposed by religious groups as “state significant”. 

Although these sites are typically larger and a high yield, Mr Scully said, “other religious groups looking to deliver housing on church land, can and should submit an expression of interest to the [HDA] for consideration”.

“The HDA provides an immediate pathway to consider well-developed affordable housing proposals with simultaneous rezonings and development applications that can start within 12 months,” he said. 

Inner west church converted into share house

Julian Robinson with his housemate Marc, who both live in a deconsecrated church in Dulwich Hill.  (ABC News: Greg Bigelow)normal

About 50 kilometres away in the city’s inner west, Julian Robinson lives in a deconsecrated Anglican church with four other housemates.

The 28-year-old moved into the 100-year-old former church in Dulwich Hill last year after learning about the place from a friend.

He understands the building, which comes complete with an external “priest quarters”, was bought by a group of local investors who wanted to keep the historical site in the community.

“Like ironically, it’s a bit of a godsend to be completely honest,” he said.

“It solves the problem so well, because church attendance is down, and it’s going to continue to go down … we have these big, beautiful, stable buildings that can be quickly converted into an appropriate living space with very few drawbacks.”

Julian Robinson’s share house comes complete with stain-glassed windows. (ABC News: Greg Bigelow)normal

He said there could be cons to living in a former church, including a lack of natural sunlight due to the stained-glass windows, and sound that travels as a result of high ceilings.

But Mr Robinson said the benefits of being in a well-located suburb with cheap rent far outweighed the negatives.

“This property being urbanised has changed the lives of five people. It’s given us stability. It’s given us affordable rent,”

he said.

Their share house still retains distinct characteristics of its former life as a religious site. (ABC News: Greg Bigelow)normal

Uncertain future for Western Sydney church

In Jamisontown, Ms Davis is continuing to push for a local heritage listing while the sale of the church is under agreement. 

In the meantime, if developers wanted to bulldoze the church, they would need to submit a development application (DA) to Penrith City Council where it would go to vote after public consultation.

A spokesperson for Penrith City Council told the ABC it was commissioning an external heritage study of the building.

“This will assist with the assessment of any future development application on the site as well as guiding if a local heritage listing is appropriate or not,” the spokesperson said.

Ms Davis said the best case scenario would be for the church to be preserved and repurposed into affordable housing similar to Mr Robinson’s home.

“It’s what the church stands for — giving back,” she said.

A spokesperson for Uniting Church of Synod of NSW and ACT told the ABC it had carefully considered future uses, including a community housing partnership, but they had received a lack of interest from providers.

The church also faced refurbishment costs to address structural issues, accessibility limitations and asbestos, estimated to be about $1 million.

“Proceeds from the sale will support the church’s housing renewal program in Western Sydney, including redevelopment of existing low-density properties into medium-density housing in areas such as Liverpool and Fairfield,” the spokesperson said.

It is understood Uniting Church removed the listing following the end of an Expression of Interest campaign, and it is now negotiating with the interested parties.

At Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency, we prioritise transparency and accountability in all our operations. We wish to clarify that we are not responsible for any external content, hyperlinks, or costs associated with our services. Nevertheless, we remain committed to delivering outstanding services and greatly value your continued support. Thank you for your trust in us.