NSW Government proposal to re-develop for just 30% social housing in return
The Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) has placed the plans for the renewal of the Riverwood social housing estate on public exhibition until 25 September 2022. Shelter NSW has recently alerted our members that we will be making a submission on this important proposal and sought their input.
The rezoning proposal for Riverwood Estate will see the 30 hectare public land site in Sydney’s south west redeveloped to create 3,900 social and private dwellings over the next 15 to 20 years. The proposal would see no more than 30% of the new dwellings, say 1,100, dedicated as social housing; essentially only replacing what exists now. This is at a time of ongoing high and unresolved demand for social and affordable rental housing in the local area (social housing general waitlist: Riverwood 200; Bankstown 2,046 and St George 1,408).
Members will be aware of Shelter NSW’s long-term and deepening concern about the NSW Government’s Communities Plus model; a model that sees the effective privatisation of public land in exchange for private developers to deliver a 70:30 (private:social housing) mix in dramatically denser residential precincts. You can read our most recent submission against the Waterloo South estate renewal planning proposal for guidance on how we approach these types of proposals.
For more information:
- Media release: New proposal to transform South-West Sydney suburb | NSW Land and Housing Corporation noting that the public exhibition stage has now been extended to September 25, 2022.
- General information about the proposal: Riverwood – (nsw.gov.au)
- Easy-to-read community August 2022 newsletter: Riverwood Renewal Community Newsletter (nsw.gov.au)