Affordability And Infill At Threat From Planning Changes

Affordability And Infill At Threat From Planning ChangesChanges to WA’s planning rules will negatively impact the affordability of housing and put further pressure on the city’s infrastructure.Property Council of Australia Executive Director Joe Lenzo said “Where is the hard evidence that changes to the R-Codes are needed? This is a kneejerk reaction to pressure from some local councils who are opposed to any form of infill.” “Nothing happens in isolation and stymying development in inner suburbs simply forces the expansion of Perth’s outer boundaries. This is in direct contradiction with the State Government’s own 3.5million policy.””If these changes are supposed to target development around activity centres and stations they must be accompanied by significant rezoning in those areas or there is no hope of the State and the local governments reaching their infill targets.””Messing around with car parking requirements may sound insignificant, but will add substantial costs to development which will ultimately have to be shouldered by the consumer. With the inclusion of every additional car bay costing from $30,000 to $80,000, how do we expect the average consumer to be able to afford to buy somewhere to live?””If parking is the problem, the answer is parking permits or better infrastructure – solutions that will not impact housing affordability.””We need to be taking advantage of existing infrastructure in our suburbs, rather than having to build more and more outwards, which will mean greater costs for us all.”Media contact: Joe Lenzo | M 0419 044 768 | E [email protected]