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Community meeting outcomes + Low and Mid-Rise reforms​

Thank you for the wonderful turnout we had at our community meeting on Sunday, 16 February.

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The event was an opportunity to brief community members about the introduction of the Transport Oriented Development (TOD) scheme around Dulwich Hill - something neither the council nor NSW Government have bothered to do. 

 

It was also a chance to get some early feedback from community members on the sort of planning they want to see in this amazing suburb (BIG HINT: It wasn’t the TOD scheme). 

 

We were interested in particular to hear the community feedback about the need to:

  • Renew New Canterbury Rd

  • Deliver genuine affordable housing

  • Make all parts of the LGA support new housing

  • Ensure better transitions between development levels; and

  • Where possible preserve the best residential bits of the suburb 

 

The Save Dully committee will be considering next steps following the meeting.

 

Here’s the presentation we provided to the audience. 

 

The presentation has some artist’s impressions, produced by Save Dully, of the ridiculous potential impacts of the TOD - such as dividing a single semi-detached home into low and high-rise zoning (see below).

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We are sure that Inner West Council, when it prepares its plans in April, can do better than this.

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Low and Mid-Rise reforms

On 21 February, the NSW Government announced the long-awaited finalisation of the Low and Mid-Rise Reforms. 

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Under the changes, dual occupancies, terraces, townhouses and two-three storey apartment buildings will be allowed in many existing low density areas within 400m to 800m of Dulwich Hill station (the TOD scheme mentioned above applies within 400m). New planning controls have been created, covering height, floor space, and minimum lot sizes and lot frontages, over-ruling Inner West Council’s existing controls including the protection of heritage conservation areas.

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Unit blocks will also be allowed to reach a minimum of six storeys, and a maximum of eight-nine storeys, in areas currently zoned for medium density.

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See more information about the Low and Mid-Rise reforms here. This includes a link to a map where you can find out more information about the impacts in Dulwich Hill.

Other Inner West Council affected areas include Newtown, Stanmore, Petersham, Marrickville, Ashfield, Croydon, Annandale, Leichhardt and Lilyfield light rail station, but not many other areas including Summer Hill, Lewisham, Rozelle and Balmain. The reasons for the inconsistent approach are most unclear.  

 

Inner West Council is indicating that its proposed council-wide plan, to be considered by a special Council meeting on 29 April, will replace both the TOD and Low and Mid-Rise Reforms. So the Low and Mid-Rise Reforms, as they currently apply to Dulwich Hill, may be short-lived.

Again, no-one has bothered telling Dulwich Hill or Inner West residents about these changes, while noting that they have just come into place.

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