Divine Intervention or Developer’s Dream? The Push to Unlock Church Land for Sydney’s Housing Crisis

By Shane St Reynolds

Sydney’s housing crisis has politicians, planners, and property developers scrambling for solutions. Now, a new “divine” idea is gaining traction: unlock the city’s vast reserves of church land for affordable housing. But as the map of “best spots” is revealed and faith-based groups line up to build, questions swirl about transparency, heritage, and who really benefits.

It’s time to call out what’s really happening: The Anglican Church in Sydney is not just redeveloping land—it’s on track to destroy its own congregations. Rob Stokes, the former Planning Minister, has clearly been hired to demolish churches for profit, not for people. This is not about community, but about cash.

A New Gospel for Housing: Churches as Developers

This weekend, the Sunday Telegraph (paywall story) splashed with news that Premier Chris Minns is “open” to letting churches build thousands of homes on their land. Faith Housing Australia, a coalition of faith-based housing providers, claims 747 church-owned sites across NSW could deliver up to 20,000 affordable homes—many within walking distance of train stations.

Faith Housing Australia chair Rob Stokes said that could be changed with the “stroke of a pen”.

Sorry Rob, that’s not the case: To do that, you would need to change the law about trusts! And trust me when we say that we will go after every development application for every church that developers try to redevelop with heritage prospects. So please keep your hands off our churches! Why isn’t the answer developing some other assets? Why is the church playing into the hands of the developers? There is clearly a serious conflict of interest here.

The pitch is simple: relax zoning rules, let churches redevelop “underused” land, and watch the housing supply boom. The government, desperate for alternatives after the Rosehill racing track plan collapsed, is listening. “It’s a good idea,” Minns said, as his ministers scramble to hit housing targets.

You can be assured this “feel good” story was issued to counter the bad publicity the Anglican Church in Sydney is getting over the proposed demolition of Bankstown’s St Paul’s Church and their appearance on A Current Affair last week. The timing is no coincidence.

But behind the headlines, the story is more complicated—and more cynical. Whispers of backroom deals, hidden incentives, and “under the table” payoffs add to the unease surrounding these developments.

Rob Stokes: From Planning Minister to Faith Housing Crusader

At the centre of this push is Rob Stokes, the former NSW Planning Minister, now chair of Faith Housing Australia. Stokes, a committed Christian, has made no secret of his passion for both planning and faith. His new role, as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, lets him combine both—advocating for faith-based social housing and, crucially, for the redevelopment of old churches.

Update (Feb 2025): Stokes has also been appointed as the inaugural Group Executive for Housing at Anglicare Sydney, according to Australian Ageing Agenda. This means he now holds senior leadership roles in both the advocacy and operational arms of church-led housing initiatives—a consolidation of power that raises even more questions about conflicts of interest and governance.

Stokes’ modus operandi is clear: He targets heritage-listed or historic church sites, arguing that their "heritage value is low" and that they are "spare capacity" ripe for redevelopment. In a 2023 interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Stokes described how a 120-year-old church in Marrickville was heritage-listed, costing a social housing company over $1 million to challenge. He dismissed the building as only the "31st best example of Queen Anne architecture out of 32" in the area, downplaying its significance to justify redevelopment. This approach—minimising heritage value to clear the way for demolition—has become a hallmark of his advocacy.

Stokes argues that many churches are “spare capacity” in prime locations, ripe for conversion into housing. He points to projects like St John’s Darlinghurst, where church land has already been turned into homes for the homeless. But he’s also quick to criticise heritage protections, claiming they can “sterilise” sites and block much-needed development.

It’s a message that resonates with government and developers alike. But it’s also one that raises red flags for heritage advocates and parishioners fighting to save their local churches from the wrecking ball.

St Paul’s Bankstown: A Cautionary Tale

Nowhere is this tension more visible than at St Paul’s Anglican Church in Bankstown. As detailed in our ongoing investigation, St Paul’s is a living symbol of community, history, and faith—its walls built by volunteers, its gardens holding the ashes of generations. Yet, the Sydney Anglican Diocese, in partnership with Faith Housing Australia, is pushing to demolish the church for a 23-storey “affordable housing” tower.

The Diocese claims the church is too costly to repair. But as our reporting has shown, the financial hardship argument is shaky at best—especially given the Diocese’s billion-dollar property portfolio and recent profits. Legal precedents suggest the Diocese cannot simply bulldoze a consecrated church held in trust for the local congregation, especially when the original purpose is still being fulfilled.

And then there’s the question of who really benefits. The “affordable” units, by legal definition, may still be out of reach for the very people they claim to help. Meanwhile, the community loses a heritage landmark, and developers stand to gain prime real estate.

Heritage vs. Housing: False Choice?

Faith Housing Australia and the Diocese argue that heritage listing “sterilises” sites and blocks social good. But experts like Dr Sue Rosen and Dr Roy Lumby counter that heritage and housing can coexist—if development is done sensitively, respecting what’s valuable. Internationally, cities have found ways to build around heritage, not over it.

The real issue, critics say, is transparency. Who decides which churches are “underused”? Who profits from the redevelopment? And why are some churches, like St Andrew’s Lane Cove, being preserved and built around, while others like St Paul’s Bankstown face total demolition?

Web of Influence

The “Web of Influence” chart below (click to enlarge) exposes the intricate network of relationships shaping the fate of St Paul’s Bankstown. At its heart sits the church itself, surrounded by a constellation of developers, politicians, church officials, and government bodies whose overlapping interests have steered the redevelopment agenda. The map highlights not only the direct players—like Rob Stokes, the Anglican Church Sydney, and property group Traders in Purple (who are developing two Anglican properties)—but also the deeper connections to figures with histories of controversy, such as former mayors Khal Asfour and Brian Robson, ex-council boss Jim Montague, and former planning minister Tony Kelly. Oversight bodies like ICAC and the NSW Parliament’s Standing Committee on State Development are also featured, underscoring the ongoing scrutiny and public concern. By visualizing these links, the chart makes clear that the battle over St Paul’s is not just about heritage or housing, but about a much larger web of power, influence, and accountability in Sydney’s development landscape.

Editor’s Note:
This article is part of an ongoing series investigating the intersection of faith, property, and power in Sydney. Previous stories have exposed conflicts of interest, legal challenges, and the fight to save St Paul’s Bankstown. We will continue to follow the money, the politics, and the promises—because the future of our city deserves nothing less.