Residents protesting the lack of affordable housing in the Inner West have marched to a proposed housing development site, currently home to low-income earners, young people and seniors, that has been earmarked for demolition to build luxury apartments.
Over 100 people gathered in Marrickville yesterday to protest Inner West Council’s recently passed Fairer Future Plan, calling for the protection of affordable housing in the area.
The plan, which proposes up to 31,000 new dwellings by rezoning areas of Marrickville, Dulwich Hill, Ashfield and Croydon for high-rise apartments, was narrowly passed by the eight Labor councillors earlier in the month, with the seven other councillors voting against.
The protesters marched through Marrickville’s streets to 50-52 Warren Road, a 1930s Art Deco brick block of 17 low cost flats, where a development application to demolish the existing building and construct a nine-storey residential apartment block of 43 apartments, including eight affordable homes, is under consideration.
Erina Delinicolas, who currently lives in the building said she was concerned the development would push the existing tenants out of the Inner West.
“The council’s new plan is based on a very easy to sell lie that this housing crisis is due to lack of supply. There is a for-profit housing system that is failing people,” Delincolas told the crowd.
Protesters marched to 50-52 Warren Road, Marrickville, the site of a proposed nine-storey apartment building. Photo: Caitlin Maloney.
She added that no one consulted the property’s residents to consult them on the plan.
“There is one group of consultants they didn’t bother to speak to, and they are the residents of 50-52 Warren Road. Not one of us received a single letter, a call, or a knock on the door,” she said.
After moving six times in the last six years, Delinicolas told Central News finding out about the development application notice was crushing.
“I just broke down, because I really thought that when I moved here that I had a stable home or somewhere that I could live for more than 18 months,” she said.
“It’s definitely hard, and I think it is normalised that for so many young people to move every six months, to move every year, and it’s just so draining.”
Protesters marched along Illawarra Road, Marrickville, blocking one lane of traffic. Photo: Sarah Goff-Tunks.
Although the Fairer Future Plan promises to deliver up to 350 affordable houses, there are almost 2,000 people in the Inner West on the NSW Government’s social housing waiting list.
Greens Councillor Izabella Antoniou said the proposal on Warren Road is the “tip of the iceberg” for future developments to come under the Fairer Future Plan.
“What we want to see is actually prioritising people’s wellbeing in the community,” she said.
The solutions to the housing crisis are obvious: build public housing, end the tax concessions, requisition empty investor homes and cap rents.
“This is 17 units’ worth of people who have strong links to the area, who are essential workers, who are students, who are young people, who are part of our community. They’re our neighbours.
“We want to see an actual plan for them. We want to see developments actually take into consideration the affordable housing stock that we could [be] potentially losing when it comes to plans like this.
“Once we lose affordable housing like this, it is gone for good, and we need to protect it.”
@centralnewsuts Over 100 people gathered at Marrickville Town Hall yesterday to protest Inner West Council’s recently passed Fairer Future Plan. Despite the rain, the protesters marched through Marrickville’s streets to 50-52 Warren Road, where a development application to demolish the existing building and construct a nine storey residential building is under consideration. Current residents of the building have said they’re concerned about the loss of affordable housing for young people, seniors and low income people who risk being pushed out of the area. Video by Caitlin Maloney and Sarah Goff-Tunks. centralnews innerwestsydney housing protest marrickville development
Addressing protesters, Marrickville resident Emma Norton noted the number of empty private dwellings in the Inner West, which according to the 2021 census, sits at over 8,000.
“The solutions to the housing crisis are obvious: build public housing, end the tax concessions, requisition empty investor homes and cap rents,” she said.
“The Fairer Future Plan is now being implemented, but we won’t give up, and there is a great tradition in the Inner West of left-wing people, ordinary community members, of socialists who will stand up to the rich and powerful and fight for what is right.”
Inner West Council was contacted for comment but did not respond.
Main image by Sarah Goff-Tunks.
