The state’s peak lobby organization for low-income housing consumers has welcomed key aspects of the NSW Government’s ‘City of cities’ plan for Sydney.
Mary Perkins, the executive officer of Shelter NSW, said the fundamental problem with the Plan was that it is yet another in a series of NSW government plans promoting Sydney ’s sprawl.
‘Promotion of urban sprawl is the government’s key tool to address the city’s endemic housing unaffordability. It hopes that relocation of some households to the fringe will free up sites in existing areas.’
The plan does, however, make some key commitments to ensure some supply of affordable housing to those households who do not want to, or cannot afford to, relocate to the new suburbs on the outer fringe.
Shelter NSW welcomed the Government’s commitments to:
Shelter NSW particularly welcomed the plan’s provision for inclusionary zoning, which requires an affordable housing levy from development. The plan anticipates this tool could be appropriate in urban renewal centres and corridors and major sites zoned to residential and mixed uses.
Ms Perkins noted that many of these commitments have appeared in government policy documents before. ‘We urgently need the tools to be put in place, so we can go beyond rhetoric’, she said.
Contacts:
Mary Perkins, Executive Officer – 0419 919 091 (m), 9267 5733 ext.14
Craig Johnston, Principal Policy Officer – 0411 612 453 (m), 9267 5733 ext.11
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