An alliance of local community groups has formed to combat what it says is rampant overdevelopment robbing Sydney of its heritage, green spaces, and liveability.
The group, named the Save Sydney Coalition, says the city is being ruined by “greed-led population growth” facilitated by developers focused only on easy profits.
The Coalition consists of a combination of 150 individual campaigners, and community, heritage and grassroots groups, and launched outside state parliament on Thursday. The group says it is not against development, but says it has to be contained. Its chief goal is to start a conversation about “how big Sydney should be”, although it says it’s also supportive of affordable housing.
“We want to cease the pace of overdevelopment in the city,” spokeswoman Jane Hunter said. “We’re very concerned about the loss of heritage, the loss of green spaces, and also the inability to really, genuinely consult with people.”
Earlier on Thursday, premier Gladys Berejiklian made announcements on two significant projects to boost green space and amenities. The first was a $290m plan to preserve more open and green spaces, including the planting of 5m trees over the next 12 years. The funding will also be used to purchase strategic open and green spaces, build 200 new or upgraded playgrounds, and open up more than 80 school grounds to community use.
The second was to use $100m to improve local sporting facilities across the city, funding 120 projects for upgraded ovals, goalposts, kiosks, and dressing rooms.
“We know it is vital people have access to open and green spaces in their communities to improve liveability and provide families with the best possible quality of life,” Berejiklian said.
That announcement was made after considerable criticism of the state government’s multibillion dollar plan to knock down and rebuild Allianz and Sydney Olympic stadiums.
The Save Sydney Coalition launch was attended by actor Michael Caton, who has become closely involved in local community campaigns, including the campaign to save Bondi Pavilion.
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