Riverstone development has moved faster in the last 18 months than in the previous decade. I went through the NSW Planning Portal, the Sydney Central City Planning Panel records and the latest ministerial releases. I count 7 projects that matter to anyone living in or buying into postcode 2765. Together, the rezonings and approvals decided since May 2025 allow for about 6,600 new homes. The biggest news landed on 17 April 2026, when the state finalised the Riverstone Town Centre rezoning. It allows up to 2,850 new homes and buildings of up to 15 storeys near the station. So here is every project, where it sits, and what the decision makers have actually approved.
Written by Daniel Whitfield, founder of Australia Develops. An accountant by background who has bought land and built a home himself, he researches property development and planning across Australia using council reports, planning records and government data.
Where is Riverstone?
Riverstone is in the City of Blacktown local government area, in Sydney’s north-west (postcode 2765). It sits about 38 km north-west of the Sydney CBD and roughly 20 km north of Parramatta, on the Richmond branch of the T1 line between Schofields and Vineyard.
Riverstone Development 2026 — The Pipeline
Here is every Riverstone development project I could verify. 2 are state-led rezonings, 3 are individual development applications, and 2 are older precincts that still shape what happens on the ground. I’ve included Riverstone East and the Vineyard townhouses, even though they sit outside the suburb line, because they share the same roads, station and schools.
| # | Project / address | Developer / lead | Scale | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverstone Town Centre rezoning, around the station | NSW Department of Planning (state-led) | ~2,850 new homes, 1,200 jobs, 2 to 15 storeys | Rezoning finalised 17 April 2026 |
| 2 | Riverstone East Stage 3 (plus Stages 1 and 2) | NSW Department of Planning (state-led) | ~3,600 homes on 378 ha; Stages 1–2 ~3,500 homes | Stage 3 finalised 23 May 2025; Stages 1–2 under construction |
| 3 | 156–162 Guntawong Road, Woolworths centre | Fabcot Pty Ltd (Woolworths) | Supermarket, shops, offices; $56.4m | Approved by the Land and Environment Court, 5 March 2026 |
| 4 | 184–194 Guntawong Road apartments | UPG Pty Ltd | 146 apartments, 4 four-storey buildings | Refused 11 July 2023; no new public decision found |
| 5 | 1578–1586 Windsor Road, Vineyard townhouses | Universal Property Group | 158 2-storey dwellings | Approved by court 12 November 2024; modified July 2026 |
| 6 | Riverstone Scheduled Lands (paper subdivision) | Landcom | 1,900+ old lots; 100 registered | Partly delivered; no recent public update |
| 7 | Riverstone West employment precinct | Various landowners | 285 ha, up to 12,000 jobs | Zoned since 2009; developing in stages |
Where the Riverstone Development Projects Sit
To picture where Riverstone development is heading, think of the area as 3 zones. The old town centre hugs the station, bounded by Hobart Street, Brisbane Road, Piccadilly Street and Garfield Road East. Then east of Piccadilly Street, the paddocks run out to Windsor Road, and that is Riverstone East, where Guntawong Road carries most of the new subdivisions. Finally, west of the railway, Riverstone West runs between Riverstone and Vineyard stations towards Eastern Creek. That is the industrial side, with the Sydney Water treatment plant on Bandon Road.
PROJECT 1 — 2,850 new homes at the Riverstone Town Centre
Status: Rezoning finalised by the NSW Government, 17 April 2026
Address: the area around Riverstone station, Riverstone NSW 2765. The exhibition FAQs describe the boundary as Hobart Street, Brisbane Road, Piccadilly Street, Garfield Road East and the station. The plan leaves out land south of Garfield Road East for now.
This is the biggest Riverstone development decision so far. The Minister for Planning’s 17 April 2026 release says the rezoning “could unlock up to 2,850 new homes, 1,200 jobs and a new main street”. Heights now range from 2 to 15 storeys. The tallest buildings go near the station, while the northern end keeps its low-scale feel. The plan also promises more than 10 hectares of new or improved open space.
However, the number changed during the process. At exhibition in June 2025, the department pitched about 3,600 new homes. After 359 submissions, the final plan reduced the precinct total from 3,600 to 3,400, and that 3,400 includes about 550 existing homes. So the real uplift is around 2,850. The release says the government made the cut to help with flood evacuation. Heights east of Piccadilly Street also came down.
Why this Riverstone development plan was cut back
The history matters here, because this is the second attempt. Blacktown Council ran its own planning proposal (PP-2020-3064) from 2018. Then the 2021 and 2022 Hawkesbury-Nepean floods hit, and in October 2023 the state decided that proposal would not proceed. At the same time it shelved Marsden Park North, citing evacuation modelling. The department restarted in September 2024 under the State Significant Rezoning Policy. It also moved the planned main street from Market Street to George Street, which sits on higher ground.
For now, what’s on site is the old town centre. Think shops along Garfield Road and Market Street, the Riverstone Schofields Memorial Club, the pool and plenty of older houses. According to the exhibition FAQs, the club and the pool keep their current zoning. The state plans to acquire the former Riverstone Bowling Club site, so Mill Street Reserve can expand. Lower-lying land is also earmarked for open space and stormwater.
Because of the flood risk, floor levels must sit well above the 1 in 100 year flood. The FAQs say the standard is “close to a 1 in 500 per year flood event”. Affordable housing makes up 1.5% to 3% of new homes. The finalisation documents on the NSW Planning Portal include a flood impact risk assessment, a transport plan and an urban design framework. I couldn’t find any development application yet for a building that uses the new 15-storey height. Expect the first ones to come from landholders near the station, but there’s no date.
PROJECT 2 — About 7,100 homes in Riverstone East, Stages 1 to 3
Status: Stage 3 rezoning finalised 23 May 2025; Stages 1 and 2 rezoned 2016 and under construction
Address: the land between Piccadilly Street and Windsor Road, centred on Guntawong Road. Parts of it carry a Rouse Hill 2155 address, even though the precinct takes the Riverstone name.
Riverstone East is where most of the new housing in this Riverstone development story is going. The state rezoned Stages 1 and 2 in 2016 for an initial 3,500 homes, and builders are still filling those estates. Then the department finalised the final piece, Stage 3, on 23 May 2025. It covers 378 hectares including part of Rouse Hill Regional Park. The finalisation report puts its capacity at 3,605 homes for about 11,400 people.
In addition, Stage 3 allows detached homes, duplexes and some apartments. 5% of properties go to affordable housing. The plan includes up to 48 hectares of green open space and 2 community centres. But the final version dropped the high-density R4 zone that appeared at exhibition, and it widened lot frontages. It also reserved 2 school sites totalling 6.1 hectares. One is a high school site at Cudgegong and Guntawong roads, while the other is a primary school site in the middle of the precinct.
As a result, Blacktown City Council stays the consent authority for most DAs here. Developers pay into a Section 7.11 contributions plan, which IPART reviews. Sydney Water told the department it expects to commission permanent water and wastewater upgrades in 2028–29. So some early subdivisions will run on interim sewer arrangements. In other words, the rezoning is complete, but plenty of Stage 3 still looks like semi-rural acreage today.
PROJECT 3 — Woolworths centre at 156–162 Guntawong Road
Status: Approved by the Land and Environment Court, 5 March 2026 (DA-24-01305, PPSSCC-632)
Address: 156 and 162 Guntawong Road, Rouse Hill NSW 2155, in the Riverstone East local centre near Tallawong Road.
For locals, this is the first full-line supermarket for Riverstone East, and the most visible piece of Riverstone development on the eastern side. The applicant is Fabcot Pty Ltd, Woolworths’ property arm. It lodged on 28 November 2024, with a capital investment value of $56,391,190. Blacktown Council didn’t decide it in time, so Fabcot appealed against the deemed refusal. Then the parties reached a section 34 agreement. Commissioner O’Neill granted consent on 5 March 2026 in Fabcot Pty Ltd v Blacktown City Council [2026] NSWLEC 1106. The planning panel record shows the final determination entry on 2 July 2026.
The approved scheme includes a Woolworths supermarket, retail and commercial tenancies, basement parking, signage and new public roads. It also subdivides the land into 2 super lots. The court accepted a height of 19.2 m, against limits of 12 m and 14 m, and a floor space ratio of 0.678:1 against 0.4:1. The Sydney Development Journal reported about 9,069 sqm of floor space, including a 3,862 sqm supermarket. Nobody has announced a construction start date, but the works also cover rebuilding part of Guntawong Road and extending Tallawong Road.
PROJECT 4 — 146 apartments at 184–194 Guntawong Road (refused)
Status: Refused by the Sydney Central City Planning Panel, 11 July 2023 (SPP-23-00036, PPSSCC-423)
Address: 184–194 Guntawong Road, Rouse Hill NSW 2155, a few hundred metres along from the Woolworths site.
UPG Pty Ltd proposed 4 four-storey residential flat buildings with 146 apartments and 237 basement parking spaces. The capital investment value was $33.0 million. The panel refused it unanimously on 11 July 2023. It adopted the council’s reasons and added 2 of its own on the height breach. First, the applicant’s clause 4.6 request did not properly address the tests. Second, the building did not fit the height objectives or the R3 Medium Density zone, so approval was not in the public interest.
So what happens next? For now, it is unclear. I found no public record of a court appeal or a fresh DA for this exact site since 2023. Also, the Stage 3 rezoning in 2025 changed the controls around it. So a redesigned proposal at a lower height is the most likely path, but nobody has said so publicly. Treat the site as undecided.
PROJECT 5 — 158 townhouses at 1578–1586 Windsor Road, Vineyard
Status: Approved by the Land and Environment Court, 12 November 2024; modification approved 7 July 2026 (SPP-23-00037, PPSSCC-432)
Address: 1578, 1580, 1584 and 1586 Windsor Road, Vineyard NSW 2765, on the north-eastern edge of the Riverstone area.
Universal Property Group first sought 177 2-storey townhouses, worth $41.7 million. The planning panel refused it unanimously on 28 September 2023. Its reasons were long. The applicant had not shown permanent access, stormwater disposal or waste management, and one basin sat on council drainage land without owner’s consent. The panel also flagged missing traffic, biodiversity and contamination detail. It noted the contamination report dated from June 2018, and that the BASIX certificate was more than 3 months old.
After that, the developer appealed, and the scheme shrank. The court case is Universal Property Group Pty Ltd v Blacktown City Council [2024] NSWLEC 1728. On 12 November 2024, it approved an amended plan for 158 2-storey dwellings with 280 parking spaces. Then on 7 July 2026, the panel approved a change to the private road widths (MOD-25-00016). That second step usually means a developer is getting ready to build. Still, I couldn’t find a public start date.
PROJECT 6 — The Riverstone Scheduled Lands paper subdivision
Status: Partly delivered; first 100 lots registered July 2020; no recent public update found
Address: the Riverstone Scheduled Lands, a grid of 1884-era lots in the Riverstone precinct. This is one of the odder pieces of Riverstone development history. Someone carved the land up on paper in the late 1800s, but nobody built roads, water or sewer. So more than 1,900 small lots ended up spread across over 320 landowner groups.
For example, in 2016, about 80% of landowner groups in Precinct A voted for a development plan. Then in July 2020, Landcom registered the first 100 lots, enough for around 120 homes. It said a further 200 lots would follow. Landcom has since moved its website, and I couldn’t find a 2025 or 2026 progress report. If you own a scheduled lot, contact Landcom directly before assuming anything about timing or costs.
PROJECT 7 — Riverstone West employment precinct
Status: Zoned for employment since August 2009; precinct plan amended December 2022
Address: west of the railway between Riverstone and Vineyard stations, running to Eastern Creek. The old meatworks operated on this side of town until 1992.
The Riverstone West precinct covers about 285 hectares. The 2009 rezoning targeted up to 12,000 jobs. It mixes industrial land, a business park and a possible intermodal terminal. Flood-prone land near Eastern Creek stays as an environmental corridor. The plan also includes a new sub-arterial road linking Bandon Road with Garfield Road. That matters for locals, because it would pull trucks off the town centre streets. The 2022 amendments updated the flood modelling. But the plan gives no date for the full road link.
The Infrastructure Behind Riverstone Development
Roads are where most of the money behind Riverstone development is going, and the funding picture is clearer than for schools. Here is what has money, what has started, and what is still only a design.
Garfield Road East: funded, construction being prepared
Transport for NSW will widen a 3.1 km stretch of Garfield Road East, from Piccadilly Street to Windsor Road. It goes from 2 lanes to 4, with room for 6 later. The NSW and Australian governments have committed $440 million, split 50:50. Why does the town centre release quote $276 million instead? That figure matches the NSW Budget allocation over 4 years. An addendum environmental review came out in December 2025, adding a bridge or culvert over First Ponds Creek. Transport for NSW says the design and construct contract went to Fulton Hogan in August 2026. Subject to approvals, early construction work is planned to start in late 2026. No finish date is published yet.
Garfield Road Central and the level crossing: still in design
Above all, the level crossing just south of Riverstone station is the local bottleneck everyone talks about. Garfield Road Central would widen 800 m of Garfield Road, between Denmark Road and Piccadilly Street, to 4 lanes. It would also separate the road from the railway. But the project is only in strategic design. Investigation works ran until February 2026, and Transport plans fresh community consultation. Transport hasn’t published a cost, funding source or start date.
Richmond Road: $720 million, under construction
On the western side, major work on the $720 million Richmond Road upgrade began on 23 February 2026. It has 2 parts. First, about 2.2 km from the M7 to Townson Road goes from 4 to 6 lanes ($520 million), with a new flyover from the M7 off-ramp. Second, 1.6 km between Elara Boulevard and Heritage Road becomes a 4-lane divided road ($150 million). A further $50 million plans the corridor out to The Driftway. Up to 89,000 vehicles use Richmond Road each day, and it doubles as a flood evacuation route.
Bandon Road and Vineyard station: early works started
Just north, the governments are jointly funding $150 million for Bandon Road planning and early works. The early works began from 28 April 2026 at the Riverstone Parade intersection near Vineyard station. They add a car park with more than 70 spaces, better bus stops and safer pedestrian access. The full upgrade, still in planning, is a 4-lane road with an underpass below the railway. That would remove the Vineyard level crossing and improve evacuation, but it has no construction date.
Schools, water and flooding: the limits on Riverstone development
For schools linked to Riverstone development, the firm news is next door. School Infrastructure NSW plans a new primary school and public preschool at Crown and Hamilton streets, Grantham Farm, due to open in early 2028. Vineyard Public School will move there to make way for Bandon Road. The 2 Riverstone East school sites are only land reservations, though. Neither has a budget or an opening date.
Similarly, on water, Sydney Water’s North West Hub Alliance is upgrading the Riverstone Water Resource Recovery Facility on Bandon Road. It adds capacity for 45 megalitres of wastewater a day, with construction from mid-2025 to 2028. Flooding sits over all of it. Most of the old town centre is flood prone, and the 2023 decision made clear the state won’t approve more homes than people can evacuate. So before buying, check the property on the flood and bushfire mapping tools as well as the council’s flood certificate.
What’s Next to Watch in Riverstone Development
These are the next milestones I’m keeping an eye on. Each one would make a real difference to daily life in Riverstone once it lands.
- A plan to remove the Riverstone level crossing. Garfield Road Central is in strategic design. The next step is a funding commitment.
- A high school for Riverstone East. The land is already reserved at Cudgegong and Guntawong roads. Watch for a School Infrastructure NSW announcement.
- The first taller building near the station. The controls now allow up to 15 storeys, so the first DA lodged will show what the new town centre looks like.
- A full timetable for Garfield Road East. Early works are planned for late 2026, subject to approvals.
- The Bandon Road underpass. Early works are under way, and the next step is money for the full upgrade.
- A new scheme for 184–194 Guntawong Road. A redesigned application could come back after the 2023 refusal.
- Land south of Garfield Road East. The department says a future proposal may cover it.
You may also see claims that Riverstone is part of the state’s station-based housing reforms. The town centre plan is its own state-led rezoning. That’s separate from the TOD rezoning around 47 train stations, so check which controls apply before you rely on a height figure.
Riverstone Development: Project Status and Delivery Timing
| Project | Homes | Stage | Decision maker | Expected timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverstone Town Centre | ~2,850 new (3,400 total) | Rezoned | Minister for Planning; DAs to the relevant consent authority | DAs not yet lodged; no date |
| Riverstone East Stage 3 | ~3,600 | Rezoned, early DAs | Blacktown City Council | Permanent water and sewer 2028–29 |
| Riverstone East Stages 1–2 | ~3,500 | Under construction | Blacktown City Council | Ongoing |
| Woolworths, 156–162 Guntawong Rd | 0 (retail) | Approved | Land and Environment Court | Start not announced |
| 184–194 Guntawong Rd | 146 (refused) | Refused | Sydney Central City Planning Panel | Unknown |
| 1578–1586 Windsor Rd, Vineyard | 158 | Approved, modified | Land and Environment Court; panel | Start not announced |
| Riverstone Scheduled Lands | ~120 built-ready, more planned | Partly delivered | Landcom / Minister | No current timetable |
| Riverstone West | 0 (jobs) | Zoned, staged | Blacktown City Council | Ongoing |
My take on Riverstone development
Riverstone development now has what it lacked for years: final planning controls on both sides of the railway. That certainty is the real change in 2026. The town centre can finally be rebuilt, and Riverstone East can fill in. Also, the Woolworths approval gives the eastern estates a local supermarket on paper. But flooding has already cut the town centre once and trimmed it again this year. So I’d treat the 2,850 figure as a ceiling, not a forecast, because evacuation capacity will keep shaping what gets approved.
Finally, if you’re weighing up a purchase, compare it with other station suburbs on the fringe. Leppington and Edmondson Park have similar stories of rezoning running ahead of roads. Then think about the market timing questions in our buy now or wait guide. Riverstone’s edge is price and the funded road money. Its weak spot is the level crossing, which nobody has funded yet.
Questions locals are asking about Riverstone development
Will there be 15-storey buildings next to Riverstone station?
The controls now allow it. The exhibition FAQs put the 15-storey limit near the station, about 10 storeys near George Street and 2 to 8 storeys elsewhere. But a height limit isn’t an approval. Each building still needs a DA, and each must show design excellence. I couldn’t find one lodged yet.
Is a new high school coming to Riverstone?
Not yet. In fact, the Riverstone East Stage 3 plan reserves a high school site at Cudgegong and Guntawong roads and a primary site nearby. School Infrastructure NSW acquires that land at market value, but it hasn’t announced a build. The confirmed new school is the Grantham Farm primary, due in early 2028.
When will Garfield Road stop backing up at the railway?
In short, that depends on Garfield Road Central, which is still in strategic design and has no funding. The east section to Windsor Road has $440 million behind it and should help traffic heading to Rouse Hill. However, it doesn’t fix the level crossing itself.
Could my land in the town centre be acquired?
The plan earmarks some lower-lying land for acquisition for open space and stormwater, along with the former bowling club site. The FAQs said the state would confirm acquisitions at finalisation. So check the final land reservation acquisition map on the Planning Portal. If your lot is on it, call the department on 1300 420 596.
This article is general information based on NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, Transport for NSW, NSW Planning Portal, Land and Environment Court, School Infrastructure NSW, Sydney Water and Landcom material available at publication. It isn’t financial or legal advice. Approvals, funding and timelines can change, so check current details with Blacktown City Council and the relevant agency before you buy or sell.
