Inner West councillors voted 8-7 against extending feedback on Our Fairer Future Plan 2, leaving the 28 October deadline in place. Mayor Darcy Byrne opposed giving residents more time, saying changes can be made after feedback closes. But he also called the Lilyfield proposals “totally out of whack” and said he wants them changed significantly.
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The vote on more time
The amendment, moved by Greens councillor Liz Atkins and seconded by independent councillor Victor Macri, would have moved Council’s decision date from 15 December to 23 February and extended the feedback period. All eight Labor councillors voted against. The five Greens councillors, Macri and Liberal councillor Vittoria Raciti voted for.
The plan includes parts of Lilyfield, Leichhardt, Annandale, Lewisham, Petersham, Stanmore, Enmore, Newtown and St Peters. In Lilyfield, it proposes 8 to 20 storeys at 1-11 Edward Street, 3 Helena Street and 111 Lilyfield Road.
Inner West Council’s interactive map for Our Fairer Future Plan 2. Image: Inner West Council.
Residents ask for more time
Three speakers backed an extension at the public forum. They said residents had not been given enough time, or clear enough information, to understand the changes. No one spoke against: the one person registered to speak against did not appear.
Dr Lucy Wynter, a spokesperson for Lilyfield Demands Better Planning, said the group has nearly 700 members and that residents had joined because they did not understand what Council’s information meant for their streets. She said Council’s claim that this is the longest consultation period ever is “entirely irrelevant if the information hasn’t reached the audience in the first place”.
A letter read on behalf of the Better Future Coalition asked for four more weeks and a combined map of Plans 1 and 2, noting the feedback period includes a public holiday weekend and the school holidays. Another Lilyfield resident said letters from Council did not arrive until 30 September, and that the maps Council published show only base heights. Atkins told councillors her own letter arrived on 30 September, two weeks after feedback opened on 16 September.
A Leichhardt map from Council’s Plan 2 exhibition material, one of the suburbs covered by the plan. Image: Inner West Council.
The mayor’s response
Mayor Byrne was not in the chamber for most of the public forum, including the residents’ addresses on the Fairer Future items. Deputy Mayor Philippa Scott chaired in his absence. On his return, he said he has a back injury and that he had listened to all of the speeches from the public hearing.
He then opposed the extension, saying State Government rezonings are already in place and Council needs to finish its own plan promptly. He said changes could be made after feedback closes, in December, without “an extra 3 months of uncertainty”.
On Lilyfield, referring to what the council’s independent architectural experts have proposed, he said: “I think what they have proposed is totally out of whack and should not be supported.” He said he and fellow Labor councillor Kerrie Fergusson intend to seek advice from Council officers on amending the plans “in a very significant way”, including the areas considered for rezoning and the scale. That could mean the version councillors consider differs from the one now open for feedback.
In a statement to Inner West Guide, Greens councillor Izabella Antoniou said:
“Residents deserve time and the resources to understand what the plan’s rezonings mean; it is clear that 42 days is not enough.”
She added: “All suburbs affected deserve additional time, and I encourage people to make a submission using their valuable on the ground knowledge of how their suburbs work, and back in real solutions for affordability, public transport and greening.”
Council’s media team acknowledged our questions but hadn’t answered by the time we published.
Watch the meeting: Council’s webcast page.
Have your say by Wednesday 28 October
Email: [email protected]
Post: Our Fairer Future 2, PO Box 14, Petersham NSW 2049
Phone: 02 9392 5851, 9am-5pm weekdays
This weekend
Council drop-ins, Saturday 24 October: 10am-12pm at Leichhardt Service Centre (closest to Lilyfield), 7-15 Wetherill Street, and 1-3pm at Petersham Service Centre, 2-14 Fisher Street.
Council duty planners: walk in Tuesday to Thursday, 9:30-11:30am, at the Ashfield, Petersham and Leichhardt service centres, or book 15 minutes.
Greens councillors’ Town Hall, Saturday 24 October, 2:30-4pm, Leichhardt Town Hall, corner of Norton and Marion Streets. Free, with registration: register here.
