Time to fix complex and costly planning system
Reforms to the New South Wales planning system are welcome, but a looming deficit of 190,000 homes underscores the urgency of the task, says Property Council NSW executive director Jane Fitzgerald.
On Friday, the NSW Government announced its intention to release draft amendments to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, with Planning Minister Rob Stokes promising the move would “help to build a simpler, modern planning system”.
The proposed amendments include measures that received broad support during consultation on the Planning Bill 2013 – such as community engagement – as well as new initiatives such as those to strengthen the focus on good design, introduce pre-development application consultation between neighbours and clarify assessment pathways.
Stokes concedes planning laws are “still too complex and inefficient”, with Fitzgerald arguing that NSW has the “most complex planning system in the nation.”
“NSW needs a planning system that from top to bottom promotes sustainable development and helps make housing more affordable for families and first home buyers across the state,” Fitzgerald says.
The NSW Government established the Greater Sydney Commission in late 2015, and Stokes recently announced the appointments of former NSW premier Morris Iemma and experienced public servant Sheridan Dudley. They join urban planner Ed Blakely, architect Deborah Dearing, sustainability consultant Maria Atkinson, and former managing director of Landcom Sean O’Toole as other district commissioners.
On Friday, Great Sydney Commissioner Lucy Turnbull addressed a 700-strong crowd at a Property Council luncheon, during which time she outlined the detail of the Commission’s plans for the next 12 months.
Fitzgerald says Commissioner Turnbull’s presentation underscores “how much still needs to be done” to ensure the NSW planning system works as well as it can.
Analysis undertaken by the Property Council in 2015 reveals a projected shortfall in housing of 190,000 dwellings a year by 2024. The report also found Sydney had fallen short by more than 51,000 homes since housing targets were set more than a decade ago.
“The property industry is the engine room of the NSW economy delivering jobs, strong communities and prosperity and a planning system that turbocharges housing supply is a much needed solution to the affordable housing problem,” Fitzgerald concludes.