Hills Shire mayor Peter Gangemi criticises reforms by planning minister Paul Scully to boost terrace and apartment numbers

A Sydney mayor has criticised the latest move by the Minns government to supercharge the state’s housing by forcing local councils to build more townhouses and apartments in the burbs.

Hills Shire Council Peter Gangemi.

A western Sydney mayor has lashed the latest move by the state government to boost housing supply, warning the new rules would lead to a “crisis” within the booming growth suburbs.

The Hills Shire mayor Peter Gangemi said six storey apartments [did] “not belong next to existing one and two storey single-lot houses” while criticising the new “one-size-fits-all” approach of the Minns government.

On Wednesday, NSW planning minister Paul Scully revealed the government would force council areas to allow terraces, duplexes, semis and walk-up apartments in areas zoned for residential housing where they are not currently allowed.

Local councils have their own rules for what kind of homes can be built in different areas, with only two of 32 local environmental plans (LEPs) allowing for terraces and smaller unit blocks in R2 low density residential zoned areas.

The NSW state government has introduced reforms to force local councils to allow more terraces, semis and small apartments in residential areas.

Mr Scully in October wrote to Sydney councils asking them to review their zoning guidelines and identify existing areas where more diverse housing could be allowed.

Now, the Minns government has said it would enforce the sweeping changes itself to deliver what it believed could be up to 112,000 new homes across the Greater Sydney region, Hunter, Central Coast and Illawarra.

Several areas in The Hills have been zoned for high-rise apartment developments, including the Hills Showground masterplan next to the Hills Showground Metro station.

Concept designs for 36 Carrington Rd and Ashford Ave Castle Hill, where 811 units are planned for opposite the Hills Showground Metro station.

Mr Gangemi shared in a mayoral minute earlier this month he feared the rules would serve as a “trojan horse” for cookie cutter homes to be built that were not suited to “family living” in the Hills Shire.

He said the local council should be congratulated by the NSW government for the more than 13,000 homes expected in The Hills Shire local area over the next five years, as well as plans to increase high-rise apartments and medium density housing around metro stations and town centres.

Mayor Peter Gangemi.

NSW planning minister Paul Scully. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

“There is already enough land zoned to accommodate an extra 100,000 people in the Hills by 2036,” Mr Gangemi argued.

He said the state government should reconsider and working with councils directly to determine appropriate ways to increase housing stock.

“Councils I have spoken to are prepared to do even more when it comes to housing if there is additional investment in infrastructure to match the increase in population.

Blaming councils and rezoning land would not be a silver bullet to the housing crisis, he said.

“In the last ten years only 19,000 dwellings have been built in The Hills against 30,000 consents, so blaming councils and fashioning a greater number of approvals is not the magic answer to the housing crisis.”