Planning Minister Brad Hazzard
strolls through the terraced Pitt St, Redfern on Friday, housing he’d
like to see right across Sydney’s west. Picture: Sam Ruttyn
Source: The Sunday Telegraph
FORGET the great Australian dream of having a big backyard with room
for a swimming pool, NSW Planning Minister Brad Hazzard says
Sydneysiders “want” to live in tiny terraces.
Outlining his vision for the city’s future, Mr Hazzard said Sydney
had it right 100 years ago when most of the population lived in terrace
houses and that today’s cash-strapped and time-poor homeowners were
driving a modern-day resurgence in their popularity.
He said there
was a growing demand for a return to the pint-sized properties with
developers finding that lots as small as 150sqm were being snapped up
faster than anything else on the market — even on the city’s ever
expanding suburban fringe.
The average block size in areas such as Penrith, Leppington and Box Hill
is currently about 500sqm, but Mr Hazzard said it would probably fall
to about 125sqm within the next decade as terraces and semi-detached
homes took root.
“In Sydney the 21st century will see a return to the semi or terrace style of housing,” he told The Sunday Telegraph.
“If you have a busy lifestyle and you are close to public transport, who wants to mow the lawn all day?
“You
want a bit of sunshine, a bit of a place you can hang with your mates
and have a barbecue, but you don’t want to be bothered. You also want
something you can afford and won’t be a financial anchor dragging you to
the bottom of the financial depths for the rest of your life.”
Mr
Hazzard said the move away from big blocks to terraces was because
people have “woken up” to the cost and waste associated with them.
Terraces
were far more environmentally efficient than quarter-acre lots or
apartment blocks and offered cross ventilation for natural cooling, and
you could hang the washing in the back yard “rather than sticking it in
the machine all the time”, he said.
Terrace living also provided
“communities with heart” rather than the isolation of not knowing your
neighbour if you lived on a big block with a huge fence or in a unit.
“You’re
more likely to get a sense of community because you are chatting to
your neighbour over the fence when you are hanging up your washing,” he
said.
Mr Hazzard said smaller lot sizes would also see more land
released for the community to build football fields and other
recreational areas.
Robert Sullivan, from property developer
Landcom, confirmed that small blocks within walking distance of the
public transport were now most popular option for the homeowners,
particularly the young buyers.
Mr Hazzard is due to hand down his
review of the state’s planning act by the end of June. He said the
review would be “very radical” and he expected it to prompt significant
debate within the community”.