Large housing estates with tiny blocks of land are ‘turning communities into ghettos’

Young families dreaming of buying a home with space to roam in Western Sydney will have to look elsewhere with the once generous blocks shrinking to the size of a tennis court prompting calls for size regulations. TAKE OUR POLL.

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Young families dreaming of buying a home with space to roam in Western Sydney will have to look elsewhere with the once generous blocks shrinking to the size of a tennis court.

Furious council representatives say the trend towards large housing estates with tiny blocks of land is turning communities into “ghettos” and goes against the character of the region.

Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils president Barry Calvert said Western Sydney was “known for its space — not for tight little houses with no backyards”.

“In many of those new ones there’s not even enough room to get your garbage bin down the side,” Mr Calvert said.

“That’s the sort of thing that happens in Newtown — that’s not what should be happening in Western Sydney.”

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In the new Willowdale housing development, about 47km southwest of Sydney’s CBD, houses are being built on blocks as small as 250sq m and with little or no backyard. The houses are wedged in next to each other, with only tiny pockets of space in between, meaning residents get up close and personal with their neighbours whether they want to or not.

This aerial shot shows houses in Willowdale squeezed in right up against each other. Picture: Jonathan Ng

The NSW government introduced laws reducing the minimum lot size  in new growth areas, including the “southwest”, as a housing affordability measure in 2014.

This allowed detached homes in lower-density areas to be built on 250sq m blocks, down from the previous 350sq m minimum, and semi-detached homes near transport and town centres to just 125sq m.

CALL FOR CHANGE

Mr Calvert has been lobbying the state government to reconsider large housing projects, which he said were more “extreme” in Western Sydney due to the cheap price of land.

In Willowdale, a three-bedroom home on a 250sq m block costs $577,700 while in Marsden Park — another new housing community in Sydney’s northwest — the same package costs $596,700.

“Put in more parks, put in larger blocks … affordable housing should be done in terms of townhouse-type developments, not little houses on little blocks that have no infrastructure, no yard,” said Mr Calvert, who is also the mayor of Hawkesbury.

Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils president Barry Calvert said Western Sydney was “known for its space — not for tight little houses with no backyards”.

But Property Council Australia NSW executive director Jane Fitzgerald said that just because people bought smaller blocks “it doesn’t mean they should be or are accepting less amenity”.

“As part of a masterplanned community there might be a community garden, there might be communal cooking areas, green spaces … there’s a whole raft of benefits,” she said.

NSW general manager of home-building company Metricon Luke Fryer said there were several ways to maximise space on small lots.

These include having integrated indoor-outdoor living, a study “nook” rather than room and “over catering” on the facade.

Quarter-acre blocks looks like it will become a thing of the past. Picture: Jonathan Ng

“If the block is only 9m wide, it’s important the street appeal is maintained,” Mr Fryer said.

A Department of Planning and Environment spokeswoman said Sydney was “no stranger to small lot sizes”.

She said that in traditional suburbs such as Glebe, Annandale and Enmore, “existing lot sizes can range from around 100 to 200sq m and they have great access to public open space, amenities and plenty of trees”. “Willowdale is an award-winning masterplanned community that has access to numerous walking trails, parks, and open space and exercise facilities,” she said.

SMALLER & SMALLER

Housing Industry Association data shows the median lot size in Sydney has shrunk 12 per cent over the last decade from 546sq m in September 2008 to 480sq m last year. HIA chief economist Tim Reardon said the decline was largely driven by an increase in the price of land, which is the most significant component of new house and land packages.

“Sydney has the most expensive land in the country, which is the reason why block sizes are declining,” Mr Reardon said.

“Over the last decade … the land price for the average block in Sydney went from $260,000 to $451,000.”

Phil and Sarah Powrie with their kids Imogen, 4 and Eli, 8, is glad they’re in the market. Picture: Dylan Robinson

Social analyst David Chalke said the desirability of having a backyard has declined over time due to Australians having smaller families.

“Average women now have 1.8 kids as opposed to the 2.2 boomers used to have, so the need for a play area has reduced,” he said.

Willowdale mum Sarah Powrie, 39, lives on a 396sq m block of land with her three children husband and mother.

She originally wanted to buy in nearby Hinchinbrook, where she was renting, but said it was too expensive. “At the end of the day, at least we’re in the market,” she said.