The NSW Government has today announced new housing targets for Greater Sydney, Illawarra, Hunter and Central Coast and regional NSW, along with the first stage of a $200 million incentive program for councils that meet and beat the targets.
NSW Minister for Planning and Public Space, Paul Scully says the new targets were “ambitious but realistic, because they’re based on evidence”.
“We all need to be accountable. For too long, housing has been delivered without a plan,” he said.
“The new targets make for a fairer distribution across Sydney and NSW, with growth in areas where jobs and transport exist or are planned for.
“The good news is that nearly two thirds of homes are either planned, under assessment or under construction.
“The State has already reformed the planning laws to improve efficiency and speed approvals. We’re also investing $200 million to support councils with the infrastructure that builds better communities.”
Premier, Chris Minns said the NSW Government was committed to confronting the housing crisis head on, “and that means building more well-located homes; close to infrastructure and transport links; next to amenities and work opportunities”.
“We’re losing too many young people, people who make the city vibrant, essential workers and young families because they can’t afford a place to live in NSW. This has to change,” said the Premier.
“I’ve talked a long time about the need to ensure we have a fairer balance of housing across the state – so housing is built close to already established transport links, schools and hospitals.
“While these targets are required to be released, the government has already acknowledged that they will be difficult to meet.
“That’s why this government is pulling all levers required to reforming planning and setting targets for housing growth, while providing the infrastructure needed to build better communities.”
He said the Government’s plan ensures the state is building more housing around established infrastructure; in places that are connected to work and transport; in communities that already have schools and hospitals.
“These five-year targets ensure that while all areas would see an increase in homes being built to help address the housing crisis, new housing will be more fairly rebalanced from the West of Sydney towards the East and North of Sydney.”
“These targets do not mean additional housing over and above recently announced planning reforms – instead they will provide guideposts for local governments as well as access to financial support for future housing.”
The Government says the rebalancing has been developed with consideration of:
- Homes already in the pipeline;
- The additional homes to be delivered from new planning reforms including Transport Orientated Developments and low and mid rise reforms;
- Constraints due to environmental risks like floods or bushfires.
“Over the next five years, 82% of the housing targets come from infill areas with 18% to come from greenfield locations.”
“These targets will be ambitious. Last year NSW delivered 48,393 homes, and the previous record number was 74,683 in 2018/19 but we can’t sit back and do nothing,” said the Premier.
Meanwhile, the associated incentive program will reserve $200 million in grants for councils who meet or exceed the targets to fund more green space such as parks, sporting facilities and smaller pocket parks, plus maintenance of local streets and footpaths which Councils maintain.
For more information on the housing targets, visit Housing targets.
