Mosman the worst of the NIMBY councils exacerbating the housing crisis
Report cards of Sydney councils show more than half will likely fail to meet their housing targets, with ritzy Mosman among the worst offenders. SEE HOW YOUR SUBURB WAS RATED.
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Wealthy NIMBY suburbs in Sydney’s north are failing to do their bit to tackle the housing crisis, with Mosman Council among the worst offenders, as new analysis shows the ritzy suburb would need to increase delivery of new homes by more than 500 per cent to meet its state government targets.
A damning report card of Greater Sydney councils released by pro-housing group Housing Now! shows that nearly 55 per cent of the 33 local government areas (LGAs) would need to increase their housing contributions by more than 50 per cent to even have a chance of hitting their housing targets.
The councils to receive a big “F” for fail included the leafy suburbs of Mosman, Hunters Hill, Woollahra, Willoughby, Ku-ring-gai and North Sydney.
In contrast Blacktown, which has a massive five-year housing target of 21,400 new homes, is on track to meet it, building 4459 houses in 2022-23.
The NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) council of Mosman was one of the worst offenders despite having a five-year housing target of just 500 new homes.
In 2022-23, only 16 new homes were delivered.
A year later, only 99 development applications (DAs) were assessed, with many rejected.
Housing Now! calculated the council would need to improve its housing delivery by 525 per cent to hit its meagre housing targets.
Yet with most councillors in the lower north shore suburb hostile to more housing developments, such an increase appears unlikely.
Mayoral candidate for Mosman Roy Bendall said he believed the Minns government forcing the council to build more homes “just stinks”.
“We’ve already done the heavy lifting,” he said.
“The state government is imposing where we build new housing and it’s going to dislocate our community and the planning strategies that have made Mosman so nice.
“The way they’re doing it just stinks.
“The government just picks on us because we’re a Liberal council.”
Multiple Mosman councillors have expressed a negative attitude towards the state government’s housing reforms.
Fellow mayoral candidate Simon Menzies said Mosman Council would protect the suburb’s character “by standing firm against overdevelopment and preserving our village atmosphere”.
Many low-scale developments have been rejected by the council for impacting on the village vibe of the area.
The owner of a home on Raglan St had a proposal for a three-unit residential building rejected this year due to concerns it would create “undesirable amenity impacts on neighbouring properties”.
The council also refused a proposal for a residential flat building with 20 units on Cowles Rd over concerns it would impact privacy for neighbours and “block harbour views”.
A seven-unit development in the middle of the Mosman town centre on Military Rd was also rejected for similar reasons.
The Land and Environment Court later found the council had no grounds to reject the proposals.
Former NSW government chief planner Gary White said councils often deliberately rejected DAs, knowing they would later be overruled by the courts.
“It’s a practice I’ve seen used all over the place — the council won’t make the hard decision, so they let the courts make the decision even if they know the development is appropriate,” he said.
“At a time we’re trying to beat a housing crisis it’s a huge waste of taxpayer resources and time.”
Mosman Council rejected the claim it was dragging its heels on housing development.
“Mosman is on track to achieve its five-year housing target of 500 dwellings when considering dwellings in the pipeline,” a spokesperson said.
Mosman is one of the more densely populated suburbs in Sydney with 3359 people per square kilometre. Blacktown by contrast is less dense with nearly 1800 people per sqkm.
Housing Now! chair David Borger said NIMBYs were slowing down housing development and urged people to vote in next Saturday’s council elections for candidates who wanted to fix the crisis.
NSW Planning Minister Paul Scully said he encouraged people to vote for councillors “who understand that their community needs more homes”.
“The NSW government is doing its bit … and local governments need to do their part better too,” he said.
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Originally published as Mosman the worst of the NIMBY councils exacerbating the housing crisis
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