25 June 2026
Crows Nest has more places to eat than any of the eight Sydney precincts targeted for accelerated housing development, but new research has raised questions about whether its food environment will adequately support the health of a rapidly growing population.
A University of Sydney-led study identified 260 food outlets within 1.2 kilometres of Crows Nest Metro station — the highest number recorded across the eight locations included in the NSW Government’s first wave of transport-oriented development rezonings.
Crows Nest had 120 independent restaurants and cafes, 29 franchised restaurants or cafes and 32 bistros and pubs. It also accounted for 20 of the 26 food outlets classified as “expensive” across all eight precincts.
But the researchers found that healthy food retailers were substantially outnumbered by outlets classified as less healthy or unhealthy.
The findings come as the NSW Government plans thousands of additional homes around Crows Nest Metro station, increasing pressure on local shops, services and community infrastructure.
Researchers examined food businesses operating within 1.2 kilometres of stations at Crows Nest, Bankstown, Bays West, Bella Vista, Homebush, Hornsby, Kellyville and Macquarie Park.
Outlets were classified using an adapted Food Environment Score developed with Australian nutrition and public health experts. Greengrocers, butchers and supermarkets tended to receive healthier classifications, while takeaway franchises were placed at the unhealthy end of the scale.
Independent restaurants and cafes were generally classified as “less healthy”, meaning the findings should not be interpreted as a direct judgement on the nutritional quality of every individual Crows Nest restaurant.
The researchers nevertheless said earlier analysis of independent restaurant and cafe menus had found more than 80 per cent of menu items could be considered discretionary or unhealthy.
Crows Nest also had the largest number of outlets offering food delivery.
Of the precinct’s 260 food businesses, 178 were available through delivery services. The researchers classified 103 of those outlets as unhealthy, 57 as less healthy and 18 as healthy.
The study warned that delivery platforms could amplify the existing food environment by making unhealthy options more readily available beyond normal walking distances.
Crows Nest also stood out for its demographic profile. Single-person households accounted for 35.4 per cent of local households, well above the NSW figure of 25 per cent and the national figure of 25.6 per cent.
The researchers said residents of more affluent areas were often less likely to prepare meals at home because of time pressures and could be more reliant on restaurants and takeaway food.
That made the availability of healthier dining and takeaway options particularly important in precincts such as Crows Nest, they said.
The study did not find that Crows Nest was Sydney’s least healthy precinct. Kellyville and Bella Vista recorded the highest proportions of less healthy and unhealthy outlets, while Kellyville had no outlets classified as healthy within the study boundary.
However, Crows Nest’s combination of high population density, a large hospitality sector and extensive delivery coverage means its food environment could have an outsized influence on residents’ diets.
The researchers argued that food access had largely been overlooked in the state’s transport-oriented development program, despite the program’s potential to reshape neighbourhoods for decades.
They recommended that healthy food environments be considered in planning and development proposals, potentially through incentives for fresh food retailers and restrictions on the further concentration of unhealthy outlets.
Options canvassed included grants or land-tax reductions for healthier retailers and embedding requirements for access to nutritious food within housing and planning policies.
The study acknowledged that its data, collected mainly from Google Maps during August and September 2024, may contain omissions or outdated listings. Checks conducted in person found that more than 83 per cent of a sample of outlets were correctly identified, with discrepancies generally involving changed names or business closures.
The researchers said the planned expansion of housing around public transport represented a rare opportunity to shape not only how people travelled, but what food they could conveniently buy.
“Access to healthy food outlets should be improved to optimise the health and wellbeing of the planned population growth in these eight accelerated precincts,” the study concluded.