NSW government to overrule councils on some low-rise apartment approvals
Homeowners living within 800-metres of suburban 'transport hubs' across greater Sydney and surrounds will no longer be able to object to a low-rise apartment block next door. The state government is overriding local council rules, in an attempt to squeeze about 112,000 homes into suburban town centres.
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TVTranscript
00:00 The NSW Government says the future of Sydney's suburbs will look less like this and more
00:08 like this.
00:09 "Density, done well, close to transport, close to jobs, close to amenity."
00:15 The Government is taking control of some planning rules in Sydney, the Hunter, the Central Coast
00:20 and the Illawarra.
00:22 It's forcing councils to approve duplexes and terraces within 800 metres of a transport
00:28 hub like a train or a metro station.
00:31 And councils won't be able to reject low-rise apartment buildings if the zoning allows for
00:36 it.
00:37 "People need a choice.
00:38 They need to be able to choose between not just a house or a 30-storey building but all
00:43 those other things in between."
00:44 It means homeowners near those transport hubs won't be able to object to a new six-storey
00:50 apartment block next door on the basis of its height or floor space ratios.
00:55 "For too long, councils have been able to use an excuse of planning for the existing
01:00 residents rather than planning for those new communities, those new young families looking
01:04 to move in."
01:05 In the leafy Hillsshire Council, there are fears of overcrowding.
01:09 "These were densities that were never envisaged when the roads were designed, when we allocated
01:14 the amount of sports fields and passive space."
01:17 "The Government just arrogantly has a one-size-fits-all policy."
01:20 "The State Government is trying whatever it can to fast-track new homes.
01:24 It's hoping that this policy allows for 112,000 new homes to be built in the next six years.
01:30 But it's still only a third of what it's committed under the National Housing Accord."
01:35 [BLANK_AUDIO]