State names seven sites for housing changes

BP housing policy The State Government has included seven Central Coast sites that will be affected by its new Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy.

The reforms change planning controls within 800m, or 10-minute walk, around town centres and stations to allow dual-occupancies, terraces, townhouses and residential flat buildings.

The areas are around: Erina Fair; Green Point shopping centre; Westfield Tuggerah; Woy Woy station and town centre; Wyong station and town centre; Gosford station and town centre; and The Entrance town centre.

The announcement was made on Friday, February 21.

The Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy will reintroduce the “missing middle” between high-rise apartments and greenfield development such as terraces, townhouses and flats.

The NSW Government’s changes will remove the restriction on developing these types of buildings on R1 and R2 zoned land.

It also removes the restriction on medium-rise residential flat buildings on R3 and R4 zoned land in these areas.

Sites were selected considering access to goods and services in the area; public transport frequencies and travel times; critical infrastructure capacity; hazards and constraints and local housing targets and rebalancing growth.

Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said the policy filled a gap in new housing supply.

“Allowing low and mid-rise housing in more locations will help increase the number of homes in our state, improve affordability for renters and buyers and give people a choice on the type of home they want to live in,” he said.

The Planning NSW website states that low-rise housing refers to dual occupancies, multi-dwelling housing (townhouses and terraces) and low-rise apartment buildings (including manor houses).
Low-rise housing is generally no more than one to two storeys.

It does not include freestanding single houses.

Mid-rise housing refers to apartment buildings (residential flat buildings) and shop-top housing that are generally between three and six storeys.
Shop-top housing is a building that has shops or businesses on the ground floor and apartments on the floors above.

Premier Chris Minns said these types of homes had played a really important part in delivering homes over the past century but recently councils had effectively banned them.

“This reform changes that,” he said.

“Housing is the single largest cost of living pressure people are facing and these changes will deliver more homes for young people, families and workers.

“The homes built under these reforms will be close to transport, open spaces and services that people need, creating better connected and more liveable neighbourhoods by making the most of existing critical infrastructure.”

The policy will come into effect on February 28 and covers areas in Greater Sydney, the Illawarra and the Hunter as well as the Central Coast.