Inner West Council Approves Amended 30,000-Home Plan

Sydney’s Inner West Council has voted to approve a plan for up to 30,000 more homes in the area, after a stormy consultation process with plenty of both public support and opposition. At an extraordinary meeting of council at Ashfield Civic Centre on September 30, 2025, the Labor-majority council led by Mayor Darcy Byrne voted 8-7 in favour of passing the Our Fairer Future plan, with significant amendments hammered out on the night. The eight Labor councillors voted in favour, with five Greens, one Liberal, and one independent against. The public gallery, and a heated overflow chamber, were packed with residents wearing YIMBY apparel, as well as vocal opponents of the plan. “The housing crisis in our community is the most important social justice issue we face”, Byrne told the meeting, to both cheers and heckles. The plan calls for 20,000 to 30,000 homes to be built over the next 15 years, by rezoning focused on main streets and transport infrastructure hubs at Marrickville, Dulwich Hill and Ashfield. Independent councillor Victor Macri noted that those figures were significantly higher than targets assigned to or adopted by other Sydney councils with much larger footprints, while also expressing concerns over the pace of the plan’s progress through council and the need to consider flood risks in development zones. Amendments moved by Byrne, in response to community consultation, reduced the density of the Marrickville, Dulwich Hill and Ashfield plans by 5000 homes. Those homes have been shifted to the Parramatta Road corridor, where a total of 8000 homes will be developed with the state government . A new community infrastructure fund will also be established, with a mandate to deliver $500 million of transport, community facilities and new open spaces over the next decade. The plan will now need to be approved by NSW Planning, who proposed the Transport Oriented Development Program that was the initial catalyst for Our Fairer Futures. “By concentrating new homes around main streets and transport hubs we have been able to protect heritage conservation zones in a way the NSW Government’s rezoning would not have,” Byrne said. ▲ Supporters and protesters were both active outside the meeting. “We have delivered a practical plan that will ensure homes for many thousands of young people, renters and essential workers in the future. “We call on the NSW Government to gazette our policy and repeal their TOD and other rezonings immediately.” Anger over affordable component Affordable and social housing has been one of the most contentious elements of the Our Fairer Future plan, in both council chambers and community forums. Byrne was vocal in his appreciation of the neighbouring City of Sydney’s proposed affordable housing policy, now on consultation until October 7. The Our Fairer Future plan incorporates the City of Sydney’s model, requiring a 3 per cent affordable component in private developments and 20 per cent for any with additional floor space. Greens councillor Izabella Antoniou told The Urban Developer that “Labor ’ s last-minute amendments to adopt more ambitious developer levies for affordable housing was a welcome response to substantial Greens and community pressure. “Unfortunately, these changes won ’ t be introduced at the same time so we could be missing out where the vast majority of upzoning is taking place. “It is a devastating missed opportunity which could have been avoided, and may mean us losing out on millions of dollars that could have funded affordable, rent-controlled homes in our community.” In response to calls for a 30 per cent affordable housing component in private developments, Byrne told the meeting that council had already commissioned analysis from Atlas Economics. The resulting study found that a 30 per cent contribution would require towers of up to 40 storeys in the high-density zones, and up to 20 storeys in other areas. The plan as passed calls for towers up to 6-11 storeys around transport infrastructure hubs. Council will seek to work with the NSW Government to provide an additional 1000 social homes, with 220 already under way at a former WestConnex dive site in Camperdown. Another 351 homes will be provided via redevelopment of five council-owned carparks. Churches and faith groups in the LGA will be supported to redevelop their property portfolios into housing, with a 30 per cent affordable component.

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Inner West Council Approves Amended 30,000-Home Plan

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