The City of Sydney has backed a new approach to address housing supply, affordability and diversity following extensive community feedback on its Housing for All discussion paper.
Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore AO said the response showed broad recognition of the need for more housing, alongside strong expectations that growth be carefully planned and supported by infrastructure.
The discussion paper was open for public comment earlier this year and received over 1,680 responses from individuals and organisations. Around 65% of people responding supported more housing to accommodate Sydney’s growing population and improve housing choice.
“Our community knows how important it is that we build additional housing, and they have provided feedback about where and how it should be built,” the Lord Mayor said.
“Supporting infrastructure, design quality, and more social and affordable housing were cited as key priorities for creating more homes, as was protecting heritage and local character, good environmental outcomes and assurances that communities will remain involved in planning decisions.”
Following public comment, the City of Sydney is releasing an interim Housing for All implementation plan that details its short and medium-term priorities to increase housing and address the concerns of local communities.
“For the past 20 years, the City of Sydney has been at the forefront of planning for housing growth alongside creating the parks, transport connections, public spaces and community facilities needed to support thriving neighbourhoods,” the Lord Mayor said.
“This interim plan provides a practical roadmap for the work we can undertake now while preparing for the next phase of strategic planning required by the NSW Government.
“We’ll continue investigating opportunities for more homes in appropriate locations, advocate for better transport and infrastructure, and support more affordable and social housing so people from all backgrounds, needs and stages of life can continue to live in our city.”
Key actions of the interim plan include progressing planning work in areas that received strong support for more housing, investigating opportunities on selected high streets, laneways and park-edge locations, and continuing advocacy for housing on underused NSW Government land. Already, we have our second stage of new planning controls proposed for Ultimo and Pyrmont.
The Lord Mayor said planning reform alone will not solve the housing affordability crisis.
“We need all levels of government and the development industry to play a role in building homes, particularly social and affordable housing,” the Lord Mayor said.
“Our communities told us clearly that housing growth must be matched by investment in transport, schools, health services, parks and other essential infrastructure.
“We will continue advocating for the NSW Government to add more housing on its own land, invest in the infrastructure growing communities need and support genuinely affordable housing for current and future residents.”
In the plan, actions focus on continuing advocacy for improved public transport connections, including light rail and metro services, as well as measures to support more affordable housing, social housing, housing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, housing for renters and housing for people who require additional support.
The interim implementation plan comes in the wake of the NSW Government’s Sydney Plan which requires us to continuously review our planning controls. It establishes a 5-year housing target of 18,900 homes to be created in the City of Sydney’s area by 2029, one of the highest targets in the region.
To meet this and broader housing targets, the discussion paper identified 10 areas or ideas where more housing could be created through bespoke rezoning opportunities.
These include Ultimo and Pyrmont, North Green Square precinct, Prince Alfred Park east, Broadway, Parramatta Road at Forest Lodge and renewal opportunities on high streets, near parks and in laneways.
Feedback was generally supportive and the City of Sydney will now prioritise detailed investigations and site-specific rezoning proposals for the ideas that received strong support.
The Housing for All feedback and interim implementation plan will help inform future updates to the City of Sydney’s local strategic planning statement and local housing strategy, expected to be undertaken following further direction from the NSW Government in 2027.
For media enquiries, contact Nicky Breen.
Phone 0436 599 861 or email [email protected]
For comment from Lord Mayor Clover Moore, contact Paul Mackay.
Phone 0436 816 604 or email [email protected]
Restrictions: The City of Sydney provides access to this publicly distributed image for editorial purposes only and remains the copyright owner. No archiving, commercial use or third party distribution is permitted without prior written consent. When using content for editorial purposes, you must include the following image credit adjacent to the content: "Photographer’s Name / City of Sydney”
