February 6, 2026
Developers construct 250,000 new homes on Sydney’s north-western fringe, housing thousands of residents without essential community facilities, warns Blacktown City Council CEO Kerry Robinson. This largest council by area in Sydney highlights the rapid suburban expansion lacking pools, libraries, and meeting halls.
Non-Essential Classification Blocks Funding
The Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure deems facilities like pools, libraries, community centers, and indoor recreation spaces as non-essential. State laws allow councils to levy developers only for essential infrastructure, such as roads and water systems.
A 2012 cap on these contributions remains unadjusted for inflation, leaving cash-strapped councils unable to fund vital services. “What we are doing is creating a social deficit which no one needs to recognise or bring to account, because it’s happening slowly,” Robinson stated at the Sydney Summit hosted by the Committee for Sydney think tank. “But there will come a time in the future where we’re going to look back and say, ‘How did we allow this absolutely ridiculous thing to happen?’”
Urban Sprawl Fuels Inequality
Sydney’s western geography drives low-density housing on former rural land, often without adequate infrastructure. Federal Housing Minister Clare O’Neil describes urban sprawl as a subtle inequality driver. “People living on the fringes of our big cities face warmer commutes, they face higher transport costs, and they face fewer job opportunities,” she said. “We can choose to build more inequality into our cities, or we can choose to create a modern democratic city, where everyone gets a fair go.”
Shift Toward Infill Development
Grattan Institute CEO Aruna Sathanapally notes that sprawl challenges push governments toward infill strategies. “The housing situation we face now has been coming at us for a very long time, but I will say that sometimes necessity is the mother of invention. It was easier to avoid tough conversations about density when government could build infrastructure and enable sprawl,” she explained.
Robinson, with 12 years leading Blacktown Council, references 1950s and 1960s fringe developments in Australia and the US, which resulted in tremendous isolation for residents.
