Crowdfunding: A New Tool for Leichhardt Residents to Fight Overdevelopment
As the Inner West Council continues to push its "Our Fairer Future" plan—threatening to double the density of Leichhardt and demolish up to 70% of our existing housing—our community is at a crossroads. We are fighting a David vs. Goliath battle against state-backed developers and massive infrastructure shifts. However, as the fight gets tougher, a modern resource is becoming essential for local activism: Crowdfunding.
Funding the Legal Fight Fighting a massive rezoning project requires more than just passion; it requires expert legal advice and heritage assessments. In many Sydney suburbs, communities are turning to Crowdfunding to hire planning experts and lawyers to challenge development applications (DAs) in the Land and Environment Court. When the Council ignores our petitions, a well-funded legal challenge is often the only way to protect our sunlight, our trees, and our local character.
Saving Our Heritage Sites Leichhardt’s charm lies in its 1930s industrial bones and historic storefronts. When a beloved local landmark is threatened with demolition, Crowdfunding offers a way for residents to pool small donations to launch awareness campaigns, hire independent traffic consultants, or even explore community-led buyouts of historic spaces. It’s about taking the power away from offshore developers and putting it back into the hands of those who actually live on Norton Street and Marion Street.
A Community-Led Future We don’t have the deep pockets of the big developers, but we have the numbers. By utilizing Crowdfunding, Leichhardt MATTERS and our fellow residents can level the playing field. It’s not just about raising money; it’s about demonstrating a collective commitment to saving our suburb from becoming a construction zone for the next 15 years.
If we want to protect our 2nd-lowest-in-NSW open space and preserve the heritage of our Inner West, we must be willing to fund the resistance ourselves.