Liveability Benchmark Report
Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (SSROC) want to ensure that process of urban intensification delivers benefits to local communities in terms of amenity, liveability and access to employment and services. In particular, SSROC is interested in mechanisms that can be used to ensure state agencies and local governments are accountable for the delivery of additional services and infrastructures needed in areas that are subject to significant intensification and change.
Affordable Housing Advocacy
Affordable housing is a significant issue for most SSROC member councils. The affordable housing challenges of low and moderate income households, key workers and knowledge economy workers in the SSROC area are perhaps unparalleled in NSW. During SSROC member councils’ workshops on strategic priorities for the Central and the South Districts, affordable housing was identified as a key priority. Affordable housing has also featured as on SSROC Ordinary meetings with view to identify feasible and viable options for affordable housing for SSROC councils.
An SSROC Affordable Housing Working Group was established in June 2016, by the SSROC General Managers’ Forum, following SSROC Housing Session held in February 2016. The working group identified key priorities, including to contribute and influence, through advocacy, the embedding of affordable housing mechanisms in the Central and South District Plans and to develop affordable housing position paper for SSROC member councils.
The Working Group worked with Dr Judith Stubbs & Associates to develop Affordable Housing Submission to the Greater Sydney Commission. The Submission which is going through processes of endorsement by SSROC member council delegates, is supported by three evidence base background reports. The reports are:
Background Report Part 1: Demographic & Housing Market Analysis
Background Report Part 2: Planning and Economics in Priority
Liveability Indicator Mapping Report
The SSROC’s Liveability Indicator Mapping project was recently completed by SGS Economics and Planning that worked closely with the eleven SSROC member councils. The project provides evidence base and builds on the SSROC’s work on Liveability benchmarks for central and southern Sydney report.
As the SSROC region faces urban intensification as proposed for in the A Plan for Growing Sydney, SSROC was interested in how this can deliver a dividend to the local communities rather than diminish the liveability of the area. There is a concern that the current level of services is largely baseline infrastructure quality and should not be allowed to deteriorate through infusion of thousands of households without corresponding amenities and infrastructure services. A key objective of the study therefore was to baseline and understand the current liveability performance of each area of the SSROC region against a range of indicators.
The project developed a valuable tool for establishing a baseline and for assessing future infrastructure and strategic planning actions. The indicators included in the study are: access to open space, rental affordability and mortgage stress, access to centres and employment, relative job accessibility, access to public education, access to hospitals and local health clusters, access to community facilities and cultural precincts.
The final report is subject to endorsement by SSROC member council delegates at SSROC Ordinary meeting.
We embark on policy and strategy-driven research to establish an evidence base to influence planning and infrastructure initiatives, proposals and priorities of the Greater Sydney Commission, Department of Planning and Environment, the Environment Protection Authority and other agencies.
We make submissions to state and federal governments and agencies, as well as to relevant bodies and organisations. Our work contributes to public debate with an aim to highlight our region’s concerns and priorities.
To see the listing of our publications, submissions and reports, please see click HERE.
Recent regional advocacy work is listed to the left and below.
