A Hawkesbury Council meeting last week saw a number of local members oppose the Western Sydney Planning Partnership’s (WSPP) affordable housing strategy in its entirety, claiming that it does not provide adequate affordable housing lots across the region.
Under the WSPP’s plan, approximately 1.5 percent of new homes built in each LGA – Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury, Fairfield, Liverpool, Penrith, Camden, Campbelltown, and Wollondilly – would be designated affordable housing.
Councillor Danielle Wheeler says it is not near enough.
“There are currently 100,000 people in NSW sitting on public housing waiting lists, it’s between seven and 10 years long to get a house, and thousands more (people) are in rental stress and require affordable housing,” she tells News Limited.
Hawkesbury Councillors are of the opinion that the WSPP’s idea to introduce a levy to provide affordable housing is a poor way to bring developers to the table. The proposed levy would see developers provide a sum of money equivalent to the value of 1.5 percent of its gross floor area. If adopted by councils in the region, it could provide just under 7,000 new affordable housing dwellings.
Hawkesbury Deputy Mayor, Barry Calvert, says it is a drop in the ocean compared to the amount of required dwellings needed both in his LGA and beyond.
“To me it really appears to be mostly tokenism,” deputy mayor Barry Calvert said.
“It’s not going to solve the housing problem and we have no choice (but) to support it because it will possibly provide housing for a few people, and that’s good. But it’s not going to solve the problem – and anyone who thinks it will is not being realistic.”
For more information regarding the WSPP, click here.
