Transitional housing lure for developers in The Hills

A “history-making” new proposal will see developers rewarded with bonus floor space if they provide transitional housing in The Hills.

Hills Shire Mayor Yvonne Keane. Picture: Justin Sanson

A “history-making” new proposal will see developers rewarded with bonus floor space if they provide transitional housing in The Hills.

The planning proposal by The Hills Shire Council aims to provide transitional housing for vulnerable community members at no cost to ratepayers.

Under the proposal, a provision would be added to The Hills Local Environmental Plan 2012 that provides a capped floor space bonus to encourage willing developers to provide transitional housing as part of new residential developments.

The move comes two weeks after council resolved to investigate ways to encourage the provision of transitional housing in The Hills following a motion put forward by Mayor Yvonne Keane.

The plan would see two additional dwellings allowed for every transitional group home provided, up to a maximum of 9 additional dwellings – three of which would need to be a transitional group home.

The transitional homes would remain the property of the developer and would be managed by community housing providers or not-for-profit organisations, and would be returned to the developer after a set period of time.

Maggie Dent, Yvonne Keane, Dannielle Miller and Sarrah Le Marquand inside one of The Sanctuary’s homes in The Hills.

Under the plan, the bonus floor space would not exceed 10 percent of the maximum permitted on the site (capped at 900m2 of additional gross floor area regardless of the site area).

The proposal has been backed by a number of community leaders including Women’s Community Shelters chief executive officer Annabelle Daniel, Supt Rob Critchlow from The Hills Local Area Command, and Maria Kovacic from Western Sydney Women and The Hills Community Aid.

Ms Daniel said transitional housing was generally used for between six months and two years and was a “crucial stage” towards independent living.

Ms Daniel said transitional housing provided the next step after crisis accommodation - such as that provided by The Sanctuary - The Hills Women’s Shelter, which was opened last year.

“What we’ve seen over a year in The Sanctuary is a group of women and children who are ready to forge new lives,” she said.

In a letter to Mayor Yvonne Keane, Supt Critchlow said the provision of transitional housing was “crucial to providing a pathway out of violence for sufferers and their families”.

“The problem is clear in that there is insufficient stock of suitable affordable housing in The Hills for women seeking to re-establish themselves after a separation,” he wrote.

“Financial control and abuse is the weapon of choice for offenders in The Hills and this will only worsen as properties become ever more expensive.

“Forcing a woman to take her children from their home community and their school and peer networks to escape violence is a continuation of that abuse.”

Ms Kovacic said the community had a responsibility to provide the “basic need” of shelter to vulnerable women and children.

“Once you give a woman the opportunity to rebuild her life… that breaks the cycle,” she said.

After receiving unanimous support from councillors, the planning proposal will be sent to the Department of Planning and Environment for a Gateway Determination.

Should Gateway Determination be issued, the planning proposal will be put on public exhibition.

Hills Shire Mayor Yvonne Keane, who raised the idea of looking into transitional housing, thanked councillors for “making history and changing people’s lives”.

“I think this will be the single most important thing I do in my life,” she said.