An invitation to What’s Next For The Northern Beaches

With only a week to go until our What’s Next for Waverley? event next Thursday, we’re already underway with What’s Next for the Northern Beaches? on Feb 26th.

It’s all part of our push to build momentum for a real citizen voice in city planning, a third voice alongside government and the development industry, and to grow support for the idea of a Citizens’ Assembly on planning.

The Northern Beaches LGA is an extremely long and very diverse electorate, from Manly to Forestville to Pittwater. Many believe it to be “full.” Others feel very protective of the bush heritage, the village feel and the fragile coastal ecology. Yet the NSW government’s housing targets require an extra 5,900 new dwellings in the LGA by 2029. 

This may not be all bad. Protective as we are, we also want walkable lifestyles, public transport, affordable housing and a vibrant, engaged community, all of which depend on density. The recent Committee for Sydney showed a remarkable increase in support for increased density – especially in Sydney’s northern suburbs, where 52% of residents said they would consider living in an apartment, compared with 40% just a year ago.

We’ve seen the fuss lately following the proposed 40% rate rise: we all want council services but nobody wants to pay. It’s the same with planning. We want the upsides of density but not the negatives. Which means, it’s all about how we do it.

How to balance these competing values? How and where should extra density be accommodated? How to reach a consensus, especially in these polarising times? What is the best and fairest way forward?  

The Better Cities Initiative, in partnership with NewDemocracy, suggests that a Citizens’ Assembly – in which a random selection of citizens deliberates together over several weeks – could point a way forward, replacing social divisions with a healing consensus.

Our What’s Next for the Northern Beaches? 
Date: Wednesday 26h February
Time: 6-8pm
Venue: Mona Vale Memorial Hall