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At Urban Taskforce, we seek to explore trends and changes associated with the property development and construction sector.
ULN compares and contrasts the experience of the industry across Australia. It examines urban development with a close eye on reducing red tape and costs while supporting quality and amenity.
ULN is essential reading for all those involved in urban living including politicians, councils, planners, architects, developers, financiers, legal firms, real estate agents, strata bodies. We will connect you to like minded people with new urban ideas.
Tom Forrest
CEO - Urban Taskforce Australia
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12 November 2021
Urban Taskforce 2021 Development Excellence Awards
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Top left: Kiersten Fishburn (DPIE), Justin Wang (PIA), Mark Homes (Crown Resorts), Tom Forrest (Urban Taskforce). Top right: Judging Panel members Carolyn Cummins, Peter Poulet, Chris Johnson (Chair), John Ferrarin, David Tanevski (absent: John Wynne). Bottom right: Vince Sorrenti (MC for the evening).
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In a welcome return to live events in Sydney, Urban Taskforce celebrated the Development Excellence Awards Urban at Darling Harbour on Wednesday, 10 November 2021.
The night was a celebration of the property development industry’s passion and commitment for the sustainable growth Australia’s cities in all areas of development.
The guest of honour was the newly appointed Secretary on the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, Kiersten Fishburn. Ms Fishburn spoke her drive to ensure the planning system is an enabler of economic growth, of employment and housing supply. Ms Fishburn struck a chord with the audience who appreciated her focus on outcomes and improved performance.
The Awards attracted a large number of quality submissions with many winners being major catalysts for urban development.
A big thank you to those of you who entered the awards and/or joined us to celebrate the industry’s contribution to 2021.
The winners are:
Development of the Year 2021
Crown Sydney Hotel Resort
By Crown Resorts Limited
Commercial Development
1 Denison
By Winten Property Group
Industrial Development
LOOP
By Dexus
Aged Care Development
Anglicare RACF Woolooware Shores
By Anglicare
Retail Development
Emerton Village Shopping Centre Redevelopment
By Woolworths Group
Mixed Use Development
Spectrum
By Meriton
Innovation Development
Sixty Martin Place
By Investa
Masterplanned Communities Development
Fairwater
By Frasers Property Group
High-Rise Residential Development City
Greenland Centre Sydney
By Greenland (Australia) Investment
High-Rise Residential Development Metro
Landing (Stage 1 of Sanctuary)
By Sekisui House
Mid-Rise Residential Development City
Aqualuna
By Peakstone
Download image: Here
Mid-Rise Residential Development Metro
Bottlebrush, Schofield Gardens
By Aland Developments
Build to Rent Development
Pavilions Residences
By Mirvac Projects
Low-Rise Residential Development
Grande, Pyrmont Bay Estate
By TWT Property Group
Urban Renewal Development
Pemulwuy Project Redfern
By Deicorp Properties
Affordable Residential Development
11 Gibbons Street
By SGCH
Adaptive Re-Use Development
The Abbey
By Traders in Purple
Co-Living Development Highly Commended
Urbico
By Zenprop Australia
Click here to read Urban Taskforce's media release announcing all Development Excellence Awards winners.
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Crown Sydney Hotel Resort wins Urban Taskforce Australia’s Development of the Year 2021
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Winner of the Development of the Year 2021 award
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The winner of Urban Taskforce Australia’s Development of the Year 2021 is the iconic Crown Resorts Limited for the Crown Sydney Hotel Resort.
Crown Resorts have built a new Sydney landmark. Its design is striking. It is an innovative example of mixed-use development which, in part, resulted in the restoration of the foreshore area as a fantastic public open space.
The Chair judging panel for the Urban Taskforce DEA is former NSW Government Architect, Chris Johnson. Mr Johnson led an esteemed group on independent judges in selecting this year’s winners.
The jury was unanimous in selecting Crown Sydney Hotel Resort as the Development of the Year for 2021.This tall, elegant building has added a major destination to the Barangaroo urban renewal area. The project has had to battle some negative publicity but Crown Resorts have focussed on ensuring the building and its surroundings are delivered at a high quality level.
Urban Taskforce congratulates Crown Resorts on the well-deserved achievement!
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Ausgrid delays and cancellations causing blockages in construction
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Urban Taskforce has reached out to Ausgrid, expressing the concern of Urban Taskforce members regarding the frequent occurrence of Ausgrid works’ cancellations. This issue is impacting on construction projects industry wide.
Numerous examples point to last-minute cancellations of Ausgrid works Sydney and often there are repeated cancellations that go on for months. The delays have an enormous impact on the feasibility of the developments.
In cases where the cancelled work includes connecting a site to the power network, companies have responded deploying power generators, thus increasing their own project costs. Entire projects are being run on generators for months just to prevent greater loss caused by the potential delay of the project.
Urban Taskforce has started the conversation with Ausgrid and stands ready to work together with the company towards a constructive solution.
Click here for a copy of UTA’s letter to Ausgrid.
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Urban Taskforce recommends extension on construction hours in 2022
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From the onset of the pandemic, Urban Taskforce has been at the forefront of the call for extension on construction hours on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
The NSW Government issued the last of three COVID-19 Development—Construction Work Days Orders on 31 July 2021. This Order allows construction sites to operate (other than noisy work) on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, without the need for any approval under the Act if it complies with the conditions specified for the development.
Members of the Urban Taskforce have raised concerns that the Order is set to expire on 24 December and, if that happens, it will have a significant impact on the industry.
Urban Taskforce will be recommending to the NSW Government that the Order is extended for at least 12 months, until December 2022.
Urban Taskforce welcomes the shift in focus of the NSW government toward economic recovery. In this context, allowing the Order to expire on December 24 would work against the government’s commitment to promote a rapid economic recovery.
The loss of productivity during the COVID 19 period, and especially in the second half of 2021, has been significant. The NSW has now exceeded the threshold of 90% vaccination rate and restrictions have eased, but the delays from the recent restrictions are still felt across all industries.
A further 12 month extension of the construction hours arrangements would greatly assist the construction industry by shortening the period of construction, deliver greater supply, reduce costs and provide a much need to both the economy and State Government taxation revenue.
Click here to view the Environmental Planning and Assessment (COVID-19 Development Construction Work Days) Order (No. 3) 2021.
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Regional Housing Taskforce – a model for housing supply reform
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Source: DPIE
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Urban Taskforce welcomes the release of the NSW Regional Housing Taskforce’s Recommendations Report. The Taskforce was chaired by Gary Fielding.
The report identifies each of the constraints that apply to housing supply in regional locations and focusses on the impact of those constraints on the feasibility of property development and housing supply. The report details a range of areas where the planning system is simply not achieving the delivery of sufficient housing supply.
Each of the 5 major recommendations in this Regional Taskforce Report could usefully be applied in Greater Sydney. This report is short, succinct, and is absent of glossy images that now pervade DPIE publications. It makes clear and concise recommendations. They are not rocket science. The recommendations are:
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Support measures that bring forward development ready land
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Increase the availability of affordable and diverse housing across regional NSW
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Provide more certainty about where, when and what types of homes will be built
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Investigate planning levers to facilitate the delivery of housing that meets short term needs
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Improve monitoring of housing and policy outcomes and demand indicators
Each recommendation is supported by more detailed suggestions and practical measures to achieve their implementation.
The housing supply crisis has spread to have a massive impact on regional NSW. The lack of housing has had the biggest impact on those that can least afford it.
High demand arising from changes in settlement and re-settlement patterns across NSW have combined to mean that low cost and low rent housing has been sold off across regional NSW, leaving the most vulnerable struggling to find shelter.
This is exacerbated by the high and rising cost of housing in Greater Sydney and requires immediate attention in both Regional NSW and greater Sydney. The lack of housing supply represents a major barrier to those wanting to locate their businesses in regional NSW – it is holding back NSW.
Housing supply in regional NSW is integrally connected with housing supply in greater Sydney. The Government has acted quickly to establish a Taskforce to address the housing supply crisis in regional NSW, while few steps have been taken to address the very same crisis in Greater Sydney.
Urban Taskforce calls on the NSW Government to immediately implement these recommendations and bolster housing supply. The removal of red tape is critical to delivering a diversity of housing types. While to Report is polite to its funder (the NSW Department of Planning Industry and Environment) and finds that the planning system is not “inherently restrictive as it applies to regional NSW”, it goes on to detail a range of measures where substantial improvements can be made.
Click here for the Recommendations Report by the Regional Housing Taskforce.
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NSW Government finalises its Employment Zones Reforms
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Source: David Clarke, Unsplash
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The NSW Government has published its proposed employment land zones reforms.
The details of what has been included and ommited in the LEP Standard Instrument can be found in Schedule 1 (page 3 of the document linked below) and Schedule 2 includes the transitional provisions (page 13). Schedule 3 commences on 1 December 2022.
Click here for the Standard Instrument (Local Environmental Plans) Amendment (Land Use Zones) Order 2021.
Urban Taskforce CEO says only about a third of the job has been done. The objectives of the reform process were to reduce the number of zones, reduce their complexity and increase flexibility. Unfortunately, while the number of zones has been rationalised, the flexibility in the land use table has not.
These reforms see a tinkering with the employment zoning system – but no fundamental change. Urban Taskforce urged DPIE to institute a streamlined flexible system based on impact. In essence, all you really need is the separation of high impact employment zones from everything else (residential, commercial, retail).
The low impact employment zone should be as flexible as possible. This would allow businesses to adapt quickly to changes arising from exogenous shocks (like the GFC or COVID-19) – rather than having to lodge an application for re-zoning or wait for a review of the District Plan and Local Strategic Planning Statement.
The changes to the LEP Standard Instrument, which will commence from 1 December, insert new zones alongside the existing zones to enable the amendment of individual LEPs.
Initially, there will be eight extra zones and after one year twelve of the existing business and industrial zones will be removed from LEPs – a net result of only four zones being removed. The one year transition period of adding and removing various zones raises a lot of questions about the practical application of the reforms and a lot of uncertainty, especially for ongoing projects. In other words, the zoning problems that the industry is facing will become worse before they become mildly better.
Urban Taskforce sees this exercise as a missed opportunity to open up the planning system to drive economic outcomes through additional employment, new housing supply and activation of centres and places.
The Urban Taskforce has always promoted flexibility in the zoning system combined with broad brush land-use rules. Development proposals should be assessed according to the impact, not on its compliance with a planner’s land-use table. DPIE is, not surprisingly, populated by planners so it is not surprising that they continue to over-prescribe the land use of the employment zones.
Contact the Employment Zones team contact here.
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Also
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Update of Parramatta Floodplain Risk Management Plans
Parramatta Council has approved an Update of Parramatta Floodplain Risk Management Plans. The update documents support the finalisation of the Parramatta CBD Planning Proposal.
The Update of Parramatta Floodplain Risk Management Plans can be accessed here.
Bayside Council Planning Proposal Exhibition – Rockdale Interchange Precinct
The Interchange Precinct incorporates the Rockdale Railway Station, bus Interchange and surrounding privately owned land.
The planning proposal includes additional height and FSR across the precinct, a through site link and staging of development.
Submissions to the planning proposal can be made up until 18th November. Details can be accessed here.
City of Sydney plans to improve three areas within the Sydney CBD
New plans for Town Hall, City South and Chinatown to “help transform Sydney into a destination city” are being developed by City of Sydney Council.
Council has approved plans for outdoor space improvements that prioritise walking, bike riding and public transport and give businesses additional room to operate outdoors.
The City of Sydney will work on detailed scoping, design and feasibility studies for related short, medium and long-term projects over the next six months.
Additional information on the projects can be found here.
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Mirvac, Stockland, LendLease, Dexus, Oxford, Investa, Goodman and Aqualand included in ‘Property developers bet Australians are heading back to the office with large projects’ … read more...
The Australian 11 November
Campbelltown City Council’s South West Sydney Justice Precinct a step closer … read more …
Mirage News 5 November
Aqualand officially launches its latest luxury mixed-use residential development at North Sydney … read more …
Architecture and Design 5 November
Crown Group gears up for Brisbane debut … read more …
The Urban Developer 7 November
Turner announces appointments and promotions to reposition its offering and grow the team … read more …
Architecture and Design 5 November
Stockland announces $33Billion investment pipeline … read more …
The Australian 8 November
EG’s Sydney boarding house proposal at Redfern to raise the standard for co-living … read more …
ArchitectureAU 9 November
A State Significant Development Application (SSDA) has been lodged for the new Lang Walker of Medical Research Building in south west Sydney … read more …
Architecture and Design 8 November
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