Maximum Opportunity
The Property Council of Australia’s November Hunter Lunch will celebrate the launch of Maximum Opportunity – the industry policy response to UrbanGrowth NSW’s opportunities for Revitalising Newcastle.
Maximum Opportunity is an ambitious blueprint for transforming Newcastle.
Underpinning the proposed policy solutions are the core set of strategic priorities which the Property Council has held unequivocally for Newcastle over the past decade:
- Removing heavy rail infrastructure from the City Centre as a pre-condition of sound urban design for a peninsula city like Newcastle.
- Heavy rail services needing replacement by a rapid transit system along the dominant axis of the City Centre – Hunter Street.
- The heavy rail corridor being preserved as an East-West link across the City Centre; and
- Large scale and/or high rise development along the length of the heavy rail corridor not being desirable, nor possible, due to site constraints.
Over that decade, groups and individuals opposed to these policy settings had variously described them as rhetoric at best, and at worst, blatant lies.
Debate around future use of the heavy rail corridor was dominated by the conspiracy theory that truncation was a sop to “greedy developers” who had been “eyeing off” valuable harbour front land not subject to mine subsidence.
In fact, the rail corridor has been under-utilised, leaking value and scaring away capital for over 20 years.
Maximum Opportunity is proof that the Property Council of Australia means what it says by recommending;
- More open space than UrbanGrowth NSW
- More public amenity than UrbanGrowth NSW
- Fewer development sites than UrbanGrowth NSW
Creating landmark projects and environments where people live, work, shop and play are the things that motivate developers. They know instinctively and from experience that the starting point for liveability and attracting sustainable density is world-class public domain.
With that in mind, Taskforce members undertook an International Study tour to guarantee their thinking would be led by world’s best practice.
The delegation covered 38,000kms and inspected 20 urban transformation projects across 4 major US cities in just 10 days.
They saw newly built environments that were truly mesmerising.
They had amazing access to projects which have fundamentally changed the way people live.
They felt the economic and social dividend paid to a city from urban transformation projects.
In combination, these experiences had the eyes and minds of Taskforce members opened wide to the possibilities of the future for Newcastle.
For Glen Spicer, Director of EJE Architecture, it allowed the Taskforce to look at “the bigger picture”.
He described the UrbanGrowth NSW scheme as a “good start”, but said it was constrained by failing to leverage all the natural advantages on offer and being less ambitious than Newcastle deserved.
Angus Rose from dwp suters said that UrbanGrowth NSW had been too narrow in its focus.
“We chose to look more broadly, incorporating Foreshore Park and maximising every opportunity to connect the city with the harbour.”
Maximum Opportunity reimagines the City Centre with a series of “Game Changers” that provide world-class public domain, connect communities, stimulate demand and accommodate growth.
The Property Council now aims to convert the key recommendations of Maximum Opportunity into policy reality.
Briefings have already been provided to Senior Advisors from the NSW Premier’s office, to the Minister for Planning, the Member for Newcastle and the Awabakal Land Council.
Over the coming weeks and months, a program of deep political engagement will be executed along with involvement from regional industry bodies, professional associations and community groups.