This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
THE NSW Minns government is expanding its Transport Oriented Development planning reforms to include a further six train stations, after discussions with councils prompted an expansion of the program that aims to deliver 170,000 “well-located” homes in Sydney, the Illawarra, Hunter and Central Coast.
The six new stations are Cardiff, Cockle Creek, Belmore, Lakemba, Punchbowl and Woy Woy and take the total number of stations to 37.
The Minns government announced in December the Transport Oriented Development State Environmental Planning Policy (TOD SEPP), which identified 31 stations across 13 local government areas around which new housing is to be located within 400 metres.
It also announced zoning and governance changes that would allow higher-density housing within 800 metres of transport hubs and town centres, with the state government allowing itself to overrule local councils on planning decisions.
“The NSW government is absolutely committed to confronting the housing crisis head-on. For too long housing has been put in the too-hard basket,” said NSW Premier Chris Minns.
“If we don’t build more houses, young people will up and leave because they can’t afford a home in NSW. And if we lose our young people, we lose our future.”
The government said that working with the Department of Planning Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI), 12 of the 13 local government areas have engaged with the DPHI to develop housing plans that deliver greater or equal housing numbers than would be required by the original TOD SEPP.
“During discussions it has also become clear that several councils not only welcomed the opportunity to develop housing plans for existing TOD sites, but wanted more TOD sites to be added within their local area,” it said.
Consideration has been given to existing infrastructure capacity or planned upgrades that will support increased density, the government said.
It will work with Wollongong Council to further investigate Coniston and Unanderra as additional stations to be included once further analysis of the water and wastewater capacity is fully understood.
It said we will also continue to work with Inner West Council on their nominated sites for social housing.
The Productivity Commission found that between 2016 and 2021, Sydney lost twice as many people aged 30 to 40 as it gained, and that fewer than 20% of new dwellings were built within 10 kilometres of the CBD.
“I applaud the councils that have worked collaboratively with my department which has resulted in a TOD policy that is tailored to each location and community,” said Minister for Planning and Public Space, Paul Scully.
“I encourage others to sit down and help us address the housing crisis by working together to find well located housing across the State for young people, essential workers and families who desperately need to access the housing market.
