Council planning powers MR

Residents support community-led planning in Sydenham to Bankstown corridor

Resident action groups representing Dulwich Hill and Marrickville today supported Inner West Council taking control of planning in the eastern section of the Sydenham to Bankstown Corridor, on the condition that the council wasn’t forced to act as a puppet of the NSW Government.

The Save Dully and Save Marrickville groups made these comments after a report on Nine News Sydney on Thursday night that the NSW Government was looking at giving planning control in the corridor to local councils.

“It is pleasing that the NSW Government appears to be finally acknowledging, after four years of campaigning, that its brutal urban renewal plans have no place in historic suburbs along the Bankstown Line, including Dulwich Hill and Marrickville,” Save Dully spokesperson Jessica D’Arienzo said.

“It has been clear to us from the start that the government has made some terrible mistakes wrongly trying to push intensive development in this corridor.

“Given this, it is appropriate to hand back planning powers to Inner West Council, which has publicly stated a greater appreciation of our character and community.”

Save Marrickville spokesperson Kelsie Dadd added: “However, in doing this, it is important the council is not forced to act as a puppet of the NSW Government, by being required to implement impractically high housing targets or worse still forced to embrace the current corridor plan.”

“We would like to see the Sydenham to Bankstown strip removed as a priority urban corridor in Sydney’s Metropolitan Strategy, given that this designation if left unchallenged could also heavily influence council’s planning.

“It is also important that there’s a renewed commitment from the council to undertake genuine community-led planning which protects what makes our suburbs great.”

NSW Government urban renewal plans for the corridor were first released in October 2015, with revised plans issued in June 2017.

The June 2017 urban renewal strategy proposes more than 35,000 new homes along the corridor, including 2,000 in Dulwich Hill, 6,000 in Marrickville and 500 in Sydenham, mainly through pushing rezonings to allow inappropriate and destructive high-rise development.