Inquiry into Hunter region planning process

Inquiry into Hunter region planning processThe “Nile Inquiry”, a Select Committee of the NSW Upper House, has finished hearing evidence. It was established last month “to inquire into and report on aspects of the planning process in Newcastle and the broader Hunter region”.While the final terms of reference were very broad, the questions asked during the hearings were very narrow. Most were focussed on the replacement of heavy rail services in the CBD with Light Rail.The underlying assumption by the Greens and Labor MLC’s on the committee was that the sole motivation of the NSW Government in setting out a new vision for the city centre, was to exclusively benefit the property industry. Their contention was that private investors were “eyeing off” the heavy rail corridor as a prime development site.In fact, construction of any high rise building in the corridor is not viable for a number of practical reasons. The Property Council’s submission to the inquiry highlighted there was no feasibility study in existence to support the claim that commercial or residential development will take place on the heavy rail corridor once the line is truncated. It described those claims as “mere rhetoric and cheap slogans designed to distract Novocastrians from the substantive issues.”Giving evidence to the inquiry, NSW Executive Director Glenn Byres, reinforced the Property Council’s long held policy position on future use of the heavy rail corridor. He told members that the unequivocal industry position for nearly ten years had been to transform the rail corridor into public domain and green space for pedestrians, cyclists and other active uses.Mr Byres told the Select Committee, “It’s why we gave our full support last month to the Independent Member for Lake Macquarie’s private members bill which sought to guarantee those benefits for the people of Newcastle”.Without exception, industry groups and those who invest in the region gave evidence of how release of the NURS in December 2012 had fuelled an investment pipeline worth over $1 billion. In contrast to the evidence given by various protest groups, these local, qualified specialists could base their statements on key market insights. Another myth debunked by the Property Council was that Novocastrians had not been consulted on truncation of the heavy rail line. Andrew Fletcher, NSW Regional Director, set out a timeline over 40 years which proved the length of the conversation.Mr Fletcher cited ten separate reports since 2003, commissioned by various state governments, which had recommended truncation as one critical element in revitalising the city centre. He also outlined the unprecedented community consultation which had occurred over 18 months and pointed to the 686 submissions as evidence of deep community engagement.With the political theatre over – for the moment – Novocastrians can remain positive in the knowledge that Premier Baird has said his Government is committed to the vision of Newcastle as a more liveable city that can be highly competitive in the Asia-Pacific region.Indeed, while the inquiry debated the difficulty for Maitland surfers having to rely on buses from Hamilton, truncation works were underway. Significant contracts have been let and major works are now being undertaken around Hamilton, Morrow Park and Wickham.The Nile Inquiry has given those against progress a final chance to air their grievances and the committee will release their report just prior to the March 2015 NSW Election.That report will certainly find some differing opinions. It should also find that getting Newcastle’s urban renewal program to the point of implementation has been exhausting, consultative and ground-truthed in world’s best practice.