This week the Government released a suite of documents for the Aerotropolis and Western Parkland City comprising:

• Special Infrastructure Contribution (SIC) for the Aerotropolis
• Place-based Infrastructure Compact (PIC) program for Western Sydney
• Detailed precinct plans for:

1. Aerotropolis Core
2. Badgerys Creek
3. Wianamatta-South Creek
4. Northern Gateway and Agribusiness Precinct

• Mamre Road Precinct DCP

The two PICs initially proposed for Greater Penrith to Eastern Creek Corridor and the Aerotropolis have now been combined into the draft Western Sydney PIC Program.

The proposed levies in the Aerotropolis will be about $500,000 per hectare for mixed use development, $200,000 per hectare for industrial/enterprise zone development plus an additional two per cent if the site is within a station precinct. These State levies are in addition to the proposed 6.5 per cent local levy from Penrith and Liverpool Councils.

The Urban Taskforce, on behalf of members, has been vocal on the quantum of infrastructure levies and other development charges across NSW.

The Government is listening. DPIE has explicitly stated that the final decision by the Minister on the proposed local levies for the Aerotropolis “may impact the contribution rate for the proposed Aerotropolis (State) levy.”

Still, Urban Taskforce remains very concerned about the cumulative impact of the SIC and Local infrastructure levies proposed for the Aerotropolis.  We recognise the local infrastructure must be funded – but call on State and Federal Government to assist given the nature of the land (industrial and employment) and the importance of the airport precinct to the future of the NSW and Australian economies

The draft SIC, PIC and precinct plan are on exhibition until December 18.

The Mamre Road Precinct DCP. This public exhibition concludes on December 7.

Read Urban Taskforce CEO Tom Forrest quoted in Government News on the timing and quantum of levies proposed for the Aerotropolis here.

Access the exhibited documentation:
Aerotropolis, overview - Click here.
Precinct Plans - Click here.
SIC - Click here.
PIC - Click here.
Mamre Road DCP - Click here.

NSW may have won game two in the 2020 State of Origin. Unfortunately, the win isn’t replicated when the competition is for economic investment and winning relies on an efficient planning system.

Figures from multiple reports show red tape in NSW is resulting in far slower approval times, for all types of buildings, than those of Queensland and Victoria. In some cases, this is more than double the next slowest state.

In the week of their annual Bradfield Oration the Daily Telegraph felt compelled to address the many issues surrounding the NSW planning system. The Telegraph reported on the industry’s warning that jobs and investment in NSW need to recover and both are being hurt by a disastrously slow planning system.

The masthead’s editorial shares the concerns of the Urban Taskforce and our members stating:

“This must be fixed. And while that repair is underway, the NSW government must also carve into the levies, tolls, taxes and other penalties that inflate the cost of new housing.”

Read the Daily Telegraph article in full here.
Read the Daily Telegraph editorial in full here.

Many Councils in Metropolitan Sydney are openly ignoring the NSW Government’s District Plan Targets.

Ku-ring-gai Council has refused point blank to accept the GSC’s modest 5-year growth targets of 3,000-3,600 between 2022 and 2026.  Instead, Council supported growth of only 250 new homes over five years, effectively snubbing the NSW Minister for Planning and the Greater Sydney Commission.

Now Ryde Council’s Mayor is openly speaking of defying the GSC target.

All NSW Councils have their elections scheduled for September 2021 and they are keen for a public fight to show their communities that they are prepared to take on the State Government. 

We need economic growth, and we need population growth.  But some Councils are working against this for short term political gain and the Government is letting them do it. 

The Urban Taskforce has taken a deep dive into each Metropolitan Council’s LSPS, LEP reviews and housing strategies to understand which Councils are planning to meet their five year growth targets. The numbers are grim.

Only a handful of Councils will meet their GSC mandated, 2022-2026 growth targets. Kudos to Councils like Campbelltown, Georges River and The Hills who are finalising plans to accommodate extra growth and investment in their LGAs. But they are the broad exceptions, and they shouldn’t be.

Eighteen councils were provided with NSW Government funding of up to $2.5 million to deliver an accelerated strategic planning program comprising an LSPS, Local Housing Strategy and LEP. The program required Councils to demonstrate through their local plans how they would give effect to the relevant District Plan, including housing and employment targets. Funded Councils were required to have finalised their programs - with an LEP for plan-making with DPIE - by 30 June 2020.

Ryde was a funded ‘accelerated’ Council but only endorsed a draft LEP for exhibition in September this year with the Mayor then openly defying the need to meet their targets. Most other funded Councils are way behind on program deadlines and either ‘low-balling’ or failing to indicate a housing target for the five years from 2022 to 2026.

We all thought 2020 was a scary year - without NSW Government intervention to ensure councils are meeting targets – 2021 and beyond could be all the more frightening.

View the Urban Taskforce Metro Council Tracker here.

A new Priority Assessment Program (PAP) has been established by DPIE as a medium-term response to COVID-19, to provide a case management service for strategically important projects. The PAP will apply to a broader range of projects than its precursor - the Planning System Acceleration Program, including those that are at an earlier stage in the planning system.

Projects that will be considered for the PAP are private or public led projects that are already in the planning system or have come to DPIE’s attention through the fast track process and would benefit from case management.

Criteria will govern the selection of PAP projects, including the demonstration of strategic importance to the State or a region, the capacity to provide considerable investment, public benefit, environmental and design outcomes, together with growth and jobs over the medium term.

DPIE will not be seeking a call for expressions of interest but may approach proponents for participation in this program based on the consistency of their projects with the criteria.

Further information about this the Priority Assessment Program click here.

Australia is again building the biggest houses in the world, ahead of the United States, according to the latest CommSec Home Size Report released this week.

The report reveals that not only have Australian houses grown over the past year, so has the size of the average Australian apartment.
The ACT built the biggest houses in Australia in 2019/20, ahead of Victoria, NSW and Western Australia.

The average house size in NSW increased by 6 per cent last year.

To access the full CommSec report click here