by Duncan Leys, Acting President, from Bulletin 4/2026 (June)

As part of its ‘Have your Say’ program the City of Sydney have been running information sessions titled ‘Housing for All’ to explain their response to the State Government’s push to increase the housing supply in all Local Government Areas. See the City of Sydney’s Housing for All Discussion Paper (March 2026) which can be downloaded from the City’s webpage, Have your say on future homes in our area. Consultation on the discussion paper has started and it will be exhibited until 19 June 2026.

For Glebe and Forest Lodge the question is how to significantly increase housing supply in a highly constrained, historically sensitive and socially complex inner-city suburb – without eroding its character or displacing vulnerable communities.

Glebe is a microcosm of Sydney’s broader housing challenge:

  • High demand + central location
  • Strong heritage + existing density
  • Significant social housing + redevelopment pressures

The Sydney City Council has identified ten ideas for where more housing could be created:

  1.   Ultimo and Pyrmont with Wentworth Park returned
  2.   Connecting Green Square and Waterloo
  3.   Prince Alfred Park edges
  4.   Renewing the Supa Centa site near Moore Park
  5.   Renewing Broadway: UTS to Glebe Point Road
  6.   Renewing underused sites along Parramatta Road
  7.   More life (and living) on our high streets
  8.   Mid-rise living in Beaconsfield
  9.   Gentle density on laneways
  10.   Park-side living for more people to enjoy

Council is looking for community feedback on these ideas.

Laneway development, Forsyth Lane Glebe (photo: Tim Hesketh)

Ideas numbered 5, 6, 7 and 9 specifically affect Glebe. The ideas are to:

  •  Make better use of underutilised land and redevelop areas like Parramatta Road: This can revitalise neglected areas and avoid expanding into outer greenfield land.
  •  Encourage diverse housing types: Proposals like gentle density on laneways and mid-rise living (not just high-rise towers) are potentially a better fit with the existing neighbourhood scale.
  •  Support vibrant mixed-use areas: Proposals like adding housing to high streets and park edges would increase foot traffic for local businesses and lead to more active and lively neighbourhoods.

It is clear that Council is seeking to maintain planning discipline so neighbourhood amenity is not lost and might even be improved over time. This comes at a time when the State Government seems focused solely on the number of homes and is prepared to accept a loss of quality and amenity, treating these as being of no consequence.