“Mosman is not an area earmarked by the NSW government as being subject to a high level of growth and change over the coming years, reflecting the geography, infrastructure capacity and constraints of the area,” Mosman’s Local Housing Strategy released in 2020 states.
“By 2041, population growth in Mosman will be minimal … at an average growth rate of 0.2 per cent per annum.
“There will be the demand for an additional 713 to 1358 dwellings.”
As Sydney rents and house prices soar under the strain of a housing supply crisis, planning experts and the NSW Productivity Commission argue that well-connected inner and middle-ring suburbs including Mosman need to do more of the heavy lifting on new home supply.
Local councils resistant to development are part of the problem, but the broader onus lies with the state government and Greater Cities Commission, which has allowed local councils to sidestep making a genuine contribution to housing supply.
In new housing targets set by the Greater Cities Commission from 2016 to 2036, Sydney’s “North” region which includes Mosman, North Sydney, Lane Cove, Ku-ring-gai and Northern Beaches and other councils was given a target of 92,000 homes, out of Greater Sydney’s broader target of 725,000.
Of that 92,000 figure, Mosman will contribute a maximum of about 1800 homes.
It is a situation that needs to change, said Centre of Independent Studies chief economist Peter Tulip.
“When they say it’s full and that they can’t support much more housing there, that’s not a fact. It’s a choice,” said Mr Tulip, who lives in Mosman.
“They can’t say they’re facing an architectural or an engineering constraint when you have a major thoroughfare – Military Road – which is within 10 to 15 minutes bus ride of the CBD, and it’s got two storeys either side for most of it.”
He said traffic concerns in the well-heeled suburb, which is one of Sydney’s oldest, are valid, given the bulk of the suburb is accessible by the Military Road arterial road that often becomes clogged. But a joint approach setting new home targets in addition to a broader road and transport strategy – including revival of the mothballed Beaches Link freeway that is proposed to bypass Military Road to reach the northern beaches – would facilitate more housing without worsening congestion.
A Productivity Commission report released this week highlighted Sydney’s local council areas within 10 kilometres of the CBD – and particularly within five kilometres from the CBD – as the areas where demand for homes outstripped supply by the highest margin.
It is also where the supply of new homes is the weakest.
“Fewer than 20 per cent of new dwellings were built within the 10 kilometres of the CBD between 2016 and 2021 … the inner ring of the city is where unmet demand is greatest,” the report said. “The locations with the greatest unmet demand – based on the price-to-cost ratio – are the eastern suburbs and north shore of Sydney.”
The government’s current forecasts indicate NSW will fall short of its five-year housing targets by about 134,000. The vast bulk of existing targets have been focused on the western suburbs.
By Mosman Council’s own estimation, more than one-third of the area’s residents (36 per cent) will be living in single-occupant households by 2041. At the same time, 34 per cent of residents own their home outright and without a mortgage.
Social housing stock in the area is extremely limited, with just 70 designated properties, representing less than 1 per cent of the total housing stock. A post-war development boom created blocks of flats near the harbour, giving the suburb a higher proportion of medium density homes – about 60 per cent – than the Greater Sydney average of about 40 per cent. However, Mosman’s population of 30,000 residents is one-third that of the similar sized Waverley Council, of 75,000 residents. Neighbouring North Sydney is also half the size at 4.2 square kilometres and has 75,000 residents.
Mr Tulip said state government-set housing targets had enabled Mosman to contribute just 300 new homes to market from 2016 to 2021 and 300 again out to 2027, but attitudes in the community and council had to change.
He said the submissions from neighbours against the Parrawi Road proposal were emblematic of a pervasive attitude.
One apartment resident living next to the home wrote to council: “A four-bedroom home, such as mine, will always be occupied by families (children). Having neighbours even closer to us is creepy. The visual impact of staring right into a wall is actually depressing … ”
Another grumbled in their submission: “The newer proposal would give me an outlook from these areas onto an even more imposing solid commercial building-style wall … Indeed I would just about be able to shake hands with my neighbours.” They added: “I am still concerned as to the unspecified location (and thus potential intrusive noise) of the external components of the air-conditioning units for the development.”
A proposal for a new rear addition to a semi-attached home on Raglan Street also generated a wave of similar criticism.
“Our family has owned the [adjoining property] for over 60 years and we lived there ourselves for 25 of those years. The property has been tenanted since 2014. We have a great love for the suburb and its village atmosphere which we fear is at risk with the ongoing redevelopment in the area,” one objection read, adding, “Our property is currently tenanted … we feel strongly that the redevelopment (as currently planned) will be detrimental to our property, whether it be for future sale or rental.”
Mr Tulip said the attitude was common.
“There’s a feeling of entitlement in these suburbs that’s inconsistent with broader community attitudes … and it’s not just the council, it’s the Greater Cities Commission which needs to set a higher housing target.
“It needs to tell Mosman to build.”