Sydney metro plan released

Sydney has released its latest Metropolitan Plan that maps out how the city will manage future employment, housing and population needs.

The Property Council of Australia said the plan gives Sydney a positive long-term vision for its growth. “The plan anticipates the demands of providing additional employment and housing in a growing city,” NSW Executive Director Glenn Byres said. “Its downside is the lack of a robust infrastructure agenda, firm deadlines in some areas and a clear commitment to delivery right across government.”

The Property Council is pushing for the NSW Government to provide a long-term strategic vision for the nation’s biggest city. “The urgency of delivering on the plan is underlined by the more ambitious and robust targets for jobs and housing,” Byres said. “It makes sense to introduce feasibility testing of local planning instruments to ensure they can yield the housing and jobs demanded.”

Byres made the following suggestions for the plan to succeed:
• Comply with the COAG criteria for capital city strategic plans;
• Create a single Department of Infrastructure, Transport and Planning;
• Create a Metropolitan Development Authority with real teeth;
• Set clear timelines and performance indicators attached to sound initiatives like feasibility testing LEPs and creating an Employment Lands Taskforce;
• Set strict deadlines for the completion of all LEPs and subregional strategies;
• Release a 30-year plan for infrastructure to match the horizon for land use planning;
• Apply clear, consistent and rigorous criteria for prioritizing infrastructure;
• Advance better solutions for financing infrastructure, including a trial of Growth Area Bonds.

“We now need to move past the planning stage to delivery and ultimately, NSW needs to radically transform its capacity to turn vision into reality, “ he said.