Sydney is becoming a lopsided city as some suburbs approve thousands more new developments than planned and others only a fraction of their share, a new analysis shows.
Recent targets having been surpassed, the state government's latest plan aims for 700,000 new homes in Sydney over 20 years to keep up with population growth.
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Councils have their own share. But a new analysis comparing how many new dwellings each council has approved against its targets over the past decades suggests development in Sydney is very uneven.
Ryde Council, for example, has approved 150 per cent of the new apartments and homes (dwellings) asked for in its target, or some 3800 more.
![Going up - in some places: housing in Sydney.](/web/20170206015458im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/s/4/w/y/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gu5hwq.png/1486339762683.jpg)
Right next door, however, the smaller, richer enclave of Hunters Hill, hits little more than 75 per cent of its target despite its being the second-lowest in the city and asking only for about 40 new dwellings a year.
The Greens, who used ABS and planning department data to run the analysis, say it is proof the state government is saddling some suburbs with overdevelopment and must move toward a more equitable system of planning.
"Many Sydney communities are bearing an unnecessary load," said Jamie Parker, the Balmain MP who commissioned the analysis. "Overdevelopment and excessive building is blighting so many Sydney suburbs.
"This destruction is absolutely unnecessary, considering that many local areas have already met their agreed targets".
The Blue Mountains has achieved one-third of its target, or a deficit of 3300 homes over the past decade.
But in Sydney's inner-south, Botany Council has approved 2.5 times its targets, or 5000 homes above expectations. .
Other surpluses include Bankstown (2400 dwellings), Canada Bay (4800 dwellings), Hornsby (3700 dwellings), Auburn (6000 dwellings) and Parramatta (8500 dwellings).
One reason for the discrepancies is some communities are more resistant to developments than others.
"The centre west of Sydney seems to be a soft area in terms of development objections and the [Not In My Backyard] factor," said Professor Bill Randolph from the UNSW Cities Future Research Centre. "Of course many of the tougher areas correspond with Liberal Party electorates.
"[In Ku-ring-gai a] well-heeled professional, middle-class lobby group [has previously] successfully beat off development.
"There's a similar divide [in opposition to new developments] along the Cooks River between gentrified Marrickville and Canterbury."
Several other suburbs in Sydney's north including Warringah, Pittwater, Willoughby and Manly have also fallen short of their targets.
Mosman, however, has doubled its (lowest of all councils) target and Lane Cove also runs a surplus of 1000 homes.
Chris Johnson of the Urban Taskforce, a group representing property developers, is also critical of the targets but for different reasons; he argues they represent a failure of government planners to anticipate Sydney's changing preferences.
"More than two-thirds of approvals [for new homes] are for apartments now," he said. "That means people go to areas where apartments work, namely areas closer to public transport and jobs".
"All the developers are doing is responding to where people want to live."
That preference, Mr Johnson argues, means people naturally concentrate in some suburbs over others, namely those close to public transport and which are congenial for apartment living.
The largest shortfalls of all are in Sydney's south-west where state government plans for a major new expansion in population are yet to materialise and continue to hinge on a second airport.
Campbelltown has achieved only one-third of its targets: a 17,000 home deficit greater than any other council. Wollondilly, Fairfield and Penrith are also well behind targets.
The Greater Sydney Commission, the new super planning agency that can override Sydney councils and plans to increase greatly the speed of new housing supply, said it plans to review its local targets.
"The Commission is committed to working with local councils to develop targets - short, medium and long term – that are achievable," the spokesman said. "Greater Sydney is experiencing a step change in its growth and the Commission's vision for accommodating homes for the next generation is intrinsically linked to planning for and integrating with infrastructure and services."
The approvals measured here are distinct from newly built homes and developers say fewer than 60 per cent of homes built translated into completed properties.
Mr Johnson says the most recent data shows approvals falling and he says the state government will have to deliver more concentrated growth in areas close to the city to achieve its goal of tackling housing affordability.
But Sydney-wide the data shows councils last year approved 50,000 homes, which is above the annual state government target of 38,000 new homes over each of the next five years.
If the current pace were maintained and built, Professor Randolph said, the city would meet its targets four years ahead of schedule.
"Councils can hardly be criticised for not doing enough to support development," he said. "Pressure from the developer lobby to reduce planning controls and simplify the system to speed up approvals is not supported by the evidence".