‘It is huge’: Plan to cram 31,000 more homes in Sydney’s inner west splits opinion

3 months ago 20

Plans to encourage the construction of more than 30,000 new homes have divided Sydney’s inner west, as the local council faces pockets of backlash from residents of densely populated suburbs.

The Inner West Council in May revealed its long-awaited proposal to boost housing supply after it objected to the government’s transport-oriented development (TOD) scheme to rezone land within 400 metres of dozens of train stations across Sydney to allow six- or seven-storey unit blocks.

Dion Papanicolaou from Dulwich Hill Gourmet Meats is critical of the Inner West Council’s Fairer Future scheme.

The so-called “Fairer Future” scheme proposes taller buildings of mostly six to 11 storeys around Marrickville, Dulwich Hill, Croydon and Ashfield stations, as well as light rail stops and shopping strips in a bid to protect heritage precincts and more evenly distribute higher-density housing.

Labor Mayor Darcy Byrne said the housing boost sought to stem the exodus of young people, renters and essential workers.

“The housing crisis is a moral cause, and we are determined to act now so that future generations will still be able to call the inner west home,” Byrne said.

But the finer details of the proposed rezoning have raised the ire of some residents who are convinced the council planners and consultants have got it wrong.

Hall Greenland, a former NSW Greens convener and former Leichhardt councillor, said the increase in housing density represented “the biggest planning and development change in the inner west since the area was settled by colonialists”, and it would alter the character of established suburbs.

“There are 85,000 dwellings in the inner west and the plan aims for another 31,000. These changes, if they were implemented, would increase the number of dwellings in the inner west by 40 per cent,” Greenland said.

“In Marrickville, Dulwich Hill and Leichhardt, it represents a 60 to 70 per cent increase in the number of dwellings over the next 15 years. It is huge.”

Councillors were expected to debate the proposal at a meeting this month; however, the matter has been pushed back to September to allow the council to work through 3080 public submissions.

Shops along Marrickville Road, Dulwich Hill, which is in line for more housing.

Community groups, including Save Marrickville and Save Dulwich Hill, have formed an alliance, dubbed the Better Futures Coalition, to oppose the widespread rezoning going ahead as it is. More than 300 people attended a meeting about the plans at the Addison Road Community Centre in July.

The spread of local opponents has mixed goals. Some believe residents have not been adequately consulted on the scheme and needed more time to respond to 1150 pages of planning documents.

Others think the scale of development is too intense and should be rolled back, or the changes don’t provide enough affordable housing, or they will result in a glut of expensive new apartments.

Former independent councillor John Stamolis, a statistician, said the plans could increase the proportion of apartments in the area from about 42 per cent to 65 per cent of housing stock.

The Inner West Council wants to significantly boost housing density along busy Parramatta Road.

“It’s going to become unit city. It’s a massive scale of development in a community which is the fifth-highest density council area in Australia.

“Going from bringing 15,000 people into the area in the past 15 years, to 70,000 people being brought in over the next 15 years, is a level [of growth] nobody in Sydney has ever seen before.”

Save Dully community group member Margo Cashman said small business owners in Dulwich Hill had expressed concerns the potential loss of carparks on Seaview and Loftus streets would be “catastrophic” for trade. They also worried about overshadowing and construction disruption.

Among them is Dulwich Hill Gourmet Meats butcher Dion Papanicolaou, who said: “It will destroy the community, won’t it?”

Architect Eddie Ma, a member of the Inner West’s Housing for All Local Democracy Group, said although the changes would ease the area’s housing shortage, they also risked creating a “wall of buildings” that could overshadow main streets, while providing “practically zero” new open space.

“Seventy-one per cent of the housing proposed, or 22,000 dwellings, has been hyper-concentrated into only three suburbs – Ashfield, Marrickville and Dulwich Hill – while the rest of the local government area has been left virtually untouched. Half of the LGA gets to ignore the impacts of densification, while the other half has to suck it up,” Ma said.

Greenland was concerned the changes would result in a glut of pricey new apartments, at the expense of more affordable older blocks.

“Leichhardt will no longer be the dense, heritage, character-filled suburb it is now. It will change the character of the suburbs completely if that kind of expansion of dwellings was to occur.”

Byrne said the proposal had been backed by community housing and welfare groups including Shelter NSW, the Tenants’ Union, the NSW Council of Social Service and Faith Housing Alliance.

“There will be significant amendments to the final plan when adopted to strengthen provisions for affordable housing, community infrastructure and open space, as well as addressing site-specific changes proposed by residents.”

Another 3000 to 5000 homes are proposed for the state-led Bays West precinct around the future metro station at Rozelle. The council has a target to deliver 7800 new homes within five years.