New figures released by the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) show that City of Ryde is continuing to do the heavy lifting for Sydney in regard to easing its crippling housing crisis.
The UDIA figures show that City of Ryde has already achieved 57 percent of its five-year target of supplying 11,600 new homes by mid-2029, with 5,790 dwellings constructed to date.
This is far ahead of LGAs with similar housing targets, including Liverpool (40 percent of five-year target of 16,700 completed), Campbelltown (39 percent of five-year target of 10,500 completed), Bayside (34 percent of five-year target of 10,100 completed), and Canterbury Bankstown (31 percent of five-year target of 14,500 completed).
Only councils with far smaller targets – Hawkesbury (1,300 new homes by 2029), Mosman (500 new homes by 2029), Sutherland (6,000 new homes by 2029), Woollahra (1,900 new homes by 2029), and Waverley (2,400 new homes by 2029) achieved higher build rates than City of Ryde.
At the same time, Council has significantly exceeded the Development Application (DA) determination requirements set by the State Government's Ministerial Statement of Expectations Order, which came into effect on 1 July 2024.
During 2024/25, the first financial year of the Order, Council determined DAs within an average of 106 days, easily beating the required target of 115 days. It lodged applications within nine days, well ahead of the 15-day requirement, and referred regionally significant development applications to Sydney North Planning Panel within 216 days, well inside the specified 250-day requirement.
City of Ryde Mayor Trenton Brown said Council's impressive housing achievements have come despite a lack of State Government assistance in funding for critical infrastructure – especially open space.
"We continue to seek collaboration with the State Government in regard to striking the right balance between required housing uplift, the maintenance and creation of local employment opportunities and the provision of the essential infrastructure that must come with exponential density and population growth," Mayor Brown said.
"We are fulfilling our part of the deal – it's time for the government to do the same.
"I have been campaigning for the protection of active open space – including the precious TG Millner Fields – for well over five years. There is still time for that vital 6.2ha of land to be saved from the developers' bulldozers and I'm calling on the State Government to recognise Council's significant contribution to housing crisis solutions by helping us keep TG Millner as critically needed active open space.
"It is the infrastructure that comes with this once-in-a-generation housing boom that will maintain and enhance City of Ryde's well-earned reputation as 'The Place to be for Lifestyle and Opportunity at your Doorstep'."
