Already a subscriber?The Minns government’s signature policy to rewrite planning rules to ease the housing supply and affordability crisis overlooks a change that church and religious groups say could deliver 20,000 new homes in prime locations across Sydney.
Faith Housing Alliance chief and former planning minister Rob Stokes in front of Scots Church which has apartments built on top of it.“Faith-based sites, such as places of worship, occupy some of the best-located sites across NSW in terms of access to public transport, education, jobs and services,” Rob Stokes, chief executive of the Faith Housing Alliance and a former state planning minister, wrote in a submission to the government.
The government is facing fierce resistance from some local councils which object to what they say is broad-brush approach that does not properly take into account school population, public transport capacity and existing road infrastructure.The plan paves the way for flats of up to six storeys within walking distance of transport and town centres, but the proposed changes do not include places of worship.
But he encouraged the government to be specific about the parts of the city where it believed infrastructure can take additional use, or can be retrofitted to cater to more people. According to the submission, a “significant proportion” of the number of churches, mosques, synagogues and other places of public worship the group represents are zoned SP1 Special Activities or SP2 Infrastructure – a planning category that rules out the vast majority of housing types.This includes special disability accommodation, affordable housing, serviced apartments, student housing and social housing.
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