Greater Canberra welcomes today’s decision by Planning Minister Mick Gentleman to call in and approve the YWCA’s YHomes Ainslie housing project for vulnerable women.
“The YHomes Ainslie development has been held up for over a year by a small group of residents who have opposed this project from the outset. Many months and hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars have been spent by the Planning Authority in responding to a Tribunal appeal that has delayed this critically important housing. We hope that the Minister’s decision today brings this saga to a close and allows the YWCA to get on with the job of providing housing to women and children who are at risk of homelessness.” - Howard Maclean, Convenor
Greater Canberra’s submission on the draft Planning Bill calls on the Government to put housing affordability and socioeconomic equity at the heart of the planning system, and to streamline the approval process for public and social housing through limitation of third-party ACAT appeals and allowing use of the Territory Priority Projects mechanism.
“The Government must ensure that the new planning system facilitates the housing that Canberra desperately needs. Canberra has a housing supply crisis, with thousands of people on the public housing waiting list, and we can’t afford to have important projects like this one stuck in appeals for months on end. Canberrans expect the planning system to take into account the needs of the whole community - especially the vulnerable - rather than just the preferences of existing residents in wealthy suburbs.” - Howard Maclean
About Greater Canberra
Greater Canberra is a community advocacy group committed to affordable and high-quality housing in Canberra. We believe in a future where housing is abundant, and where everyone can enjoy a more sustainable and liveable city. For more information, see https://greatercanberra.org.