Sydney’s housing market is the second least affordable in the world, and according to the Committee for Sydney’s ‘Life in Sydney report’, the biggest problem facing Sydneysiders right now is housing affordability. To tackle the issue, the NSW Government is funding new developments across the city – with whole new CBD coming to life on the doorstep of the new airport, Sydney Olympic Park and Austral due to grow by 476 and 334 per cent respectively, and the largest affordable housing project in Australia due to be built in Waterloo. Just last month, plans were announced for a new rezoning project in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, which will bring 10,000 new homes and a new train station to Woollahra over the next few years. Now, details for the NSW Government's latest rezoning project have been announced – with 8,000 new homes due to be built along the Parramatta Road corridor.
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This newly-announced rezoning project will introduce new housing projects along the well-connected Parramatta Road corridor, complementing housing development work already underway with Inner West Council, Burwood and Canada Bay Council. A key pillar in the NSW Government’s plan to tackle the housing crisis is to build new homes in well-connected areas, and the Parramatta road corridor is the perfect site: serviced by heaps of bus, light rail and train routes, close to the CBD, and with direct access to major hospitals, schools and green spaces.
It’s worth noting, this isn’t the first we’ve heard about potential changes along Sydney’s ‘boulevard of broken dreams’. Parramatta Road has been a site of contention (and potential development) for decades, with rumours still floating about an extension of the light rail network along the road from the CBD. Under the Minns Government, plans for the area already include eight affordable housing projects which have been declared State Significant, three sites for development from the government land audit (which will deliver around 800 homes), a ‘Transport Oriented Development Accelerated Precinct’ and state-led rezoning at Homebush and North Burwood and 11 low and mid-rise sites along the length of the corridor.
Throughout the new rezoning process, the NSW Government has promised to look into introducing more active transport connections, public spaces and retail and commercial outlets in the area, alongside the affordable housing projects.
“Parramatta Road has been talked about for decades with little result. It’s time to stop talking and start building.” said Premier of New South Wales Chris Minns, who explains that his Government is “not just planning for more homes, we’re planning for better communities, with more affordable housing, better streetscapes and public spaces, and access to jobs and transport.”
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