More affordable housing for Inner West
Monday, 10 February 2020
When the nine new affordable housing units at the old Marrickville Hospital site are leased soon, Inner West Council’s current stock will rise to 19.
The Marrick & Co project, corner of Livingstone and Marrickville roads, was completed in August 2019. The nine new affordable housing units were then transferred to Council ownership in November 2019.
The nine units comprise four one bedroom units, four two bedroom units and one three bedroom unit, representing four per cent of the apartments and terrace houses on the site.
Link Housing, a registered Community Housing Provider, is responsible for managing these dwellings as part of Council’s Affordable Rental Housing Program.
Council’s other affordable housing units include the Flour Mill site in Summer Hill (four units), plus four units in Lewisham and two in Dulwich Hill.
Link Housing has been holding ‘open houses’ and accepting applications for the nine units at the Marrickville Hospital site until 11 February.
This latest affordable housing is earmarked for ‘key workers’ (people employed fulltime in essential and emergency service jobs within the local government area) and who will pay 75% of weekly median rent.
Inner West Council stepped in to address housing affordability because the State Government had failed to do so.
In 2018, Council welcomed being included in amendments to the State Government’s State Environment Planning Policy 70 (SEPP 70) policy, which confirmed Council’s ability to introduce affordable housing contribution requirements as part of rezonings or other planning proposals.
While each case is still subject to the Minister’s agreement, the move enabled Council to make affordable housing requirements compulsory as opposed to negotiating them via voluntary planning agreements.
However, as was noted at the time, much more needs to be done to address the housing affordability issue.
In 2017, Council adopted an Affordable Housing Policy, which requires 15 per cent of all total gross floor area to be transferred to Council as affordable rental housing units for any rezoned residential development with 20 or more dwellings or a gross floor area larger than 1,700sqm.
More affordable housing units are in the pipeline: six are planned for the Petersham RSL site and Council’s partnership with Link Housing to re-develop the Hay Street Car Park in Leichhardt will provide for 48 affordable housing units.
For media enquiries, contact Elizabeth Heath, Media and Communications Coordinator, 2 9392 5334 or Elizabeth.Heath@innerwest.nsw.gov.au