housing diversity guide DRAFT - Landcom - NSW Government

6 | Housing Diversity Guide INTRODUCTION
1.0
introduction
1.1 Why housing diversity?
Housing diversity provides a mix of dwellings
that meet the different needs of a wide range of
people in society. This Housing Diversity Guide
has been developed by Landcom to encourage
housing diversity in new residential areas. The
planning and design principles for housing
diversity in new areas can also be applied to
established areas.
Housing diversity is important because it enables
neighbourhoods to provide for changing
demographics. It also helps address housing
affordability issues and it provides for different
lifestyle choices and life stages including young
families, single people and retirees. Having a
wide range of dwellings makes it easier to meet
the diverse housing needs of home owners,
renters, investors, families, one or two person
households and first home buyers. Diverse
housing in local neighbourhoods helps build
diverse and socially interesting places, avoiding
housing ‘mono-cultures’.
1.2 Why a housing diversity guide?
The purpose of this Housing Diversity Guide
is to identify the key planning and design
principles that are essential to delivering high
quality housing diversity. Landcom’s goal is to
make it easier, faster and more cost effective to
deliver a wide range of housing types in new
and established communities across the Sydney
metropolitan area and NSW.
In recent years the planning system has paid
particular attention to the design of medium
and high density apartments and, at the other
end of the density scale, to detached houses.
The introduction of State Environmental
Planning Policy (SEPP) 65 (and its supporting
documents) has enabled councils, planners,
developers and architects to better understand
and design apartment buildings. Similarly, the
development industry and local communities,
together with legislation such as the Building
Sustainability Index (BASIX), have contributed
to improvements in the design of detached
homes and lower density townhouses and villas.
However, there has been a gap in the regulatory
and advisory planning framework applied to
housing developed on lots between 150m²
and 400m². For lots in this range, until recently,
housing forms have been either attached
or detached, depending on factors such as
physical location, demographics and local
demand. Housing that can be developed
on these lots include small single detached
dwellings, duplexes, triplexes, terrace homes
(row housing) and other multi unit buildings
that are of more affordable ‘cottage’ type
construction, up to three storeys.
These housing types are generally able to be
built by project home builders, although at
present they are not developing them in large
numbers due to existing regulations. Provided
in the right locations, and if careful design and
delivery is supported by the town planning
framework, these types of houses can make
a substantial contribution to relative housing
affordability.