By Katrina Emmett
The NSW Government is currently considering an amendment to the Housing SEPP that will allow a second house of any size to be built in Metropolitan and Regional rural zones (R1 to R6) and conservation zones (C3 & C4), using the Complying Development planning pathway.
As those of you that have experienced privately certified complying development next door to them, neighbours have no say on amenity impacts such as loss of privacy, overshadowing, loss of trees, noise, septic placement, etc.
Multiple councils on Sydney’s urban fringes have flagged objections, including concerns that a surge in development activity in rural areas could strain infrastructure and cause conflicts with the city’s agricultural land uses.
Hornsby Council made a submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry on this proposal as well as giving evidence on the negative impacts these amendments would have on Hornsby Shire. A transcript of Council’s evidence can be found at the following link: https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/committees/listofcommittees/Pages/committee-details.aspx?pk=338#tab-hearingsandtranscripts
Hornsby Council caps the size of secondary homes in rural areas at 120 square metres while at Hawkesbury Council the limit is 110 square metres or 20 per cent of the floor space of the principal dwellings, whichever is greater.
Some of the proposed changes to the Housing SEPP are:
- Permitting second dwellings as complying development in all rural zones
- Eliminating size limits and thus potentially functioning as the primary dwelling
- Removing distance restrictions
- Enabling strata-like agreements
- Dual occupancies wouldn’t need to be attached, potentially impacting upon agricultural land
Council’s Acting General Manager, Glen Magus, is quoted in the media as saying “rural areas had specific issues that needed to be considered as part of the development process, including on-site sewerage management requirements”.
If you think traffic on Old Northern Rd and New Line Rd is bad now, imagine it with at least double the population right across Hornsby’s rural lands.
Which makes Hornsby Council’s determination to push ahead right now with its proposal to subdivide rural lands around the Glenorie, Galston and Dural villages quite unfathomable when it knows the State Government is likely to enact this soon
The Parliamentary Inquiry reports back in February next year and it is anticipated that the Planning Minister who supports the inquiry, will move quickly on this issue.
Hornsby Council should defer doing anything on rural subdivision until the NSW Government enacts this legislation, so that Hornsby residents know just what the impacts will be on our rural areas, our amenity and our traffic congestion.
