With a Town Hall assembly just days away, it’s possible you missed it: the NSW Government has extended State Environmental Planning Policy No. 70 (SEPP 70) to all Local Government Areas. It’s a welcome change that we have pushed for together, and it removes an important barrier to Councils mandating affordable housing targets for new developments in their local government areas.
How did we win? Local power, and relentlessness.
In June last year, at our Going Local campaign training, 60 leaders set their sights on extending SEPP 70 as the next critical step in our housing campaign. It was a challenging task: building power to change an obscure planning mechanism. But local citizens, including members of the St Vincent de Paul Society, and other diverse communities, embraced the task of pushing local councils across Sydney to demand access to SEPP 70.
They met with Councillors and addressed their meetings. They hosted local housing forums across our suburbs, packing out halls in each corner of our city. They brought hundreds of people out of their homes to champion inclusionary zoning as a way through our housing crisis.
They met with Councillors and addressed their meetings. They hosted local housing forums across our suburbs, packing out halls in each corner of our city. They brought hundreds of people out of their homes to champion inclusionary zoning as a way through our housing crisis.
On the eve of our next big action, the Housing and Energy Assembly at Sydney Town Hall, the SEPP70 decision is a sign of what we can do together.
Onwards!
The Sydney Alliance Housing Team
Onwards!
The Sydney Alliance Housing Team
P.S. Read the Sydney Alliance’s official response to this change here.
Sydney Alliance
http://www.sydneyalliance.org.
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