Q. Why do we need to accommodate more housing?
Warringah Council has been directed by the NSW State Government through the Sydney Metropolitan Strategy to provide 10300 new dwellings by the year 2031. This is the overriding reason for developing a new housing strategy. If Warringah Council does not plan for this increase the State Government may decide to take planning powers away in order to achieve the target. It therefore makes good sense for Warringah Council in conjunction with the Community to plan for the long term to ensure Warringah continues to remain such an attractive place to live. However this is not the only reason.
The Strategy is also about responding to the changing demographics in our area. Warringah needs to facilitate alternative housing types to meet the different household needs associated with an aging population, high incidence of divorce, low fertility rates, single parent families and families with fewer children. There needs to be a process to facilitate development of attractive, affordable, medium density dwellings for smaller households in existing local centres to provide greater housing choice for the community.
Demand for a greater diversity in housing form is growing in Warringah. There is no doubt that a key part of Warringah’s attraction is the combination of the large stock of separate dwellings, comparative affordability (to areas to the south) and the amenity of the area. But the population of Warringah is not only growing but also changing. Housing demand is increasing and the main drivers are natural population growth, immigration and decreasing household size. Even though there continues to be significant support for the traditional detached home, it must be recognised that building this type of house is unsustainable and unaffordable for an increasing proportion of the community and in particular for grown children who wish to stay in the area and key workers.
If Council is to address both the State Government target and these emerging population changes, we will need an increased number of medium density, more affordable dwellings that have widespread market appeal. We need to consider smaller housing types, courtyard homes, villas, apartments, terrace or row dwellings.
Q. What is the Sydney Metropolitan Strategy?
In 2005 the State Government released its Metropolitan Strategy titled ‘City of Cities – A Plan for Sydney’s Future’. The Strategy sets the broad frameworks to manage growth and development within Sydney for the 25 year period to 2031. The document sets dwelling and job targets, as well as identifying the key objectives and actions to enable the targets to be achieved.
There are seven (7) key subject areas which include the Economy and Employment, Centres and Corridors, Housing, Transport, Environment and Resources, Parks and Public Places, Implementation and Governance. Under each key subject area the Strategy sets objectives and a detailed list of actions.
The delivery of the actions contained within the Strategy is to be undertaken at the subregional level. Accordingly, the Metropolitan area of Sydney has been divided into ten (10) strategic subregions each of which consists of a group of local government areas with similar development and population pressures. The Warringah Local Government Area (LGA) is located within the North East subregion along with the Manly and Pittwater LGAs.
Q. What’s happening with the Metropolitan Strategy Targets?
The Metropolitan Strategy Review – Sydney Towards 2036, released on 17 March 2010 announced that following an analysis of recent census data, Sydney’s population forecast has been increased to 5.7 million by 2031 and 6 million by 2036. The review indicates that whilst Councils are to continue to plan to meet current housing targets, updated housing targets will need to be determined by the State Government in consultation with councils.
On this basis, Council will continue forwards with public consultation and planning for the existing targets. If and when the targets are revised, as seems likely at an unknown future date, the new targets will be incorporated into Council's planning for housing in Warringah. We encourage you to follow this link to the discussion paper to further inform your comments on the online forum and at Talk of the Town 2010.
Q. How can I be involved?
To register to be involved in Warringah's Housing Future click here.
Given the anticipated community interest in the shaping the development of housing over the next 25 years, the engagement plan is extensive and incorporates a range of traditional and contemporary engagement methods to inform and engage a broad cross section of the community. Key activities include:
Stage 1 - Building awareness of Warringah's Housing Future includes:
- 26 Jan 2010 - Launch Warringah's Housing Future project
- 26 Jan - Registrations open for Talk of the Town 2010 Community Summit
- Commencing Feb - Media Campaign in Manly Daily including adverts and Mayor's column
- Commencing Feb - Information in libraries, Aquatic Centre, Civic centre,
- Early March - Launch online discussion forum
- March and April - Meet the Mayor and display stalls in Shopping centres, promotion via Council events
Stage 2 - Talk of the Town 2010 - Community Summit to Develop Preferred Direction
The main cornerstone event in developing the Housing Strategy is the Community Summit (Talk of the Town 2010). This event will provide background information and educate residents to be able to make better informed input and decisions. This output will then be used for the broader community engagement activities.The engagement program for The Talk of the Town 2010 includes:
- March and April - Advertising in the Manly Daily
- March to April 30 - Poster competition for Warringah schools
- March - Letter box drop advising of Warringah's Housing Future and Talk of the Town 2010 Community Summit
- 23 April 2010 - Registrations close and participants are selected to represent community demographics
- 23 May 2010 - Host Talk of the Town 2010
- June - Talk of the Town follow up
- June - Sept - Analyse input and produce a ‘Housing Directions’ Paper for further community engagement
Details of Stages 3 and 4 will be available at a later date.
