This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
NSW Premier Kristina Keneally yesterday unveiled the Metropolitan Plan for Sydney 2036, predicting the population will increase to 5.98 million and the number of houses to 2.45 million, which the industry says is too modest.
The Metropolitan Plan incorporates the fully funded $50.2 billion Metropolitan Transport Plan, the plan is the first major update of the 2005 Metro Strategy.
“On average, Sydney’s population will increase by 57,000 people a year over the next two decades and this plan will focus new homes near jobs and public transport.
“Considering land use and transport planning as two halves of a whole will ensure we get maximum value from existing and planned transport, and reduce the need for car travel,” she added.
“This is about building homes and suburbs that will encourage people to get out of their cars, and use public transport to get to nearby employment centres,” she continued.
Planning Minister Tony Kelly said proper management of Sydney’s increasing housing will be welcome news.
He said this plan will increase the vibrancy of dozens of centres across Sydney through urban renewal, including through strengthening Parramatta’s role as Sydney’s second CBD.
The announcement was cautiously welcomed by the property industry.
The Urban Taskforce’s CEO Aaron Gadiel said the plan will mean little if there is no firm implementation agenda as evidenced by the 2005 Metropolitan Strategy which had gathered dust.
“Rather than tackle the problems that stopped the last strategy working, the government has merely re-written it and issued a new document.
“Strategies will not promote investment or build confidence if they aren’t backed up by a commitment to action,” he added.
Gadiel said implementation was being left to Sydney’s 43 parochial local councils.
“Generally speaking, Sydney local councils are dominated by not-in-my-backyard agendas. Many councils will actively undermine efforts to provide compact pedestrian friendly communities around good transport links.
“The reality is, high development levies, excessive red tape and local politics have crippled Sydney’s housing supply and will continue to do so – and this new plan is unlikely to make any difference,” Gadiel continued.
Gadiel said the new plan envisaged an extra 25,000 new homes being added to Sydney’s housing stock each year, but the city approves less new homes per head of population compared to other capital cities.
“The city’s per capita housing supply has halved since 2003. Sydney only secured 13,400 extra homes in 2009/10.
“These targets are already very low – earlier this year an internal government report revealed that demand for extra housing in Sydney is likely to be between 25,000 and 50,000 dwellings per year.
“Not only are government targets too modest – actual housing supply is running at half their target,” he added.
Gadiel also said the strategy assumed that Sydney’s annual rate of job creation would permanently shrink by a quarter.
Between 2001 and 2006, the job market in Sydney grew annually by 1.3%, but the projections in today’s strategy assume annual job growth between 2006 and 2036 will fall to just 1%. This means the government is planning for just 760,000 extra Sydney jobs by 2036, instead of 1.03 million jobs.
In contrast, in the last five years Melbourne’s job market has been growing at an annual rate of 2.9%, and Brisbane’s has been growing at 2.5%.
“Sydney should be Australia’s employment hub, yet this plan contemplates painfully slow job growth, running at a third of Melbourne’s level,” he concluded
Australian Property Journal
