Plans to build 700 apartments in towers above a metro train station in Waterloo have been lashed by the City of Sydney council, which fears the development will not include enough affordable homes.

The “metro quarter” proposal by the state government’s UrbanGrowth Development Corporation and Sydney Metro includes four towers of 29, 25, 23 and 14 storeys.

The government plans to build four tower blocks above the underground Waterloo metro station.

More than 100 submissions on the proposal, published on Wednesday, seized on concerns about building heights, car-parking, increased population density, traffic congestion and over-shadowing.

Clover Moore's council and Gladys Berejiklian's government have been at odds over broader proposals for the redevelopment, which include the overhaul of the area's public housing estate.