Leichhardt cannot be expected to solve the housing crisis on its own. The community agreed to the original Inner West housing target under State Government TOD planning reforms which were minimal for Leichhardt. Then Council doubled those targets under Fairer Future, and together with the State Govt, announced expanded Parramatta Rd 'Corridor' development (PRCUTS), which spreads right through the South of Marion St precinct. This is not Corridor development. Our Labor Ward Councillor Philippa Scott engineered a Council motion to shift 2,000 dwellings onto that 'corridor' from other suburbs. Leichhardt targets have now increased to a minimum 10,000 new dwellings, more than any other suburb in the State. And that's just Stage 1. There's more to come.

This unprecedented scale of development only happens through massive demolitions - Huge numbers of buildings in our suburb would need to be mowed down, including existing more affordable housing, to make way for new developments. Leichhardt would be a construction zone for 15 years. Communities will be destroyed, businesses will face hardship and people will be displaced. This is already happening.

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Leichhardt already has the 2nd lowest amount of open space per person in NSW and there are no credible plans or land available to increase that. 

 

Leichhardt's Light Rail is not fit for mass transport. An additional 20,000 people will overwhelm transport in our suburb which has no heavy rail or a Metro Station. 

 

Housing affordability is a smokescreen being used by Council and State Government to create a bonanza for developers. With high land costs in the Inner West, housing built by private developers for profit puts renting or buying even further out of reach for people on average wages. The pledge to provide affordability for essential workers, families and young people is an empty promise.