The NSW Urban Taskforce issued a report, Imagine NSW Without
Development, to the Herald in response to what it sees as anti-growth
politicking before the election on March 24.
The group wants communities in Sydney
to accept bigger buildings in their midst and for the city’s overall footprint
to grow.
“It is easy to say that Sydney is full, that no further greenfield development
should occur, or that no further infill development should be allowed, but
where will all the people of Sydney and NSW live?” said the Taskforce’s
CEO, Terry Barnes.
He added: “We recognised that while such a position could be
described as highly improbable, the economic modelling of the ‘no growth’
scenario clearly demonstrates the value of the housing sector to the NSW
economy.”
The lobby group says that 216,000 jobs a year in the construction
industry would be lost if expansion cannot continue. Over the next four years
$6.6 billion in direct investment in the building industry would be lost.
Claims by the State Opposition that Sydney’s CBD is already at capacity have
received a cold response from the property industry. And the Liberals’ policy
of reviewing the plans for new residences and office space at the wharves of East Darling
Harbour has raised
concerns. The taskforce is also responding to resistance by some councils to
the Department of Planning’s strategy for managing population growth in Sydney.
However, the president of the Local Government Association, Genia
McCaffery, said most councils had tried to accommodate the state’s plans for
urban consolidation.
“Our concern is that we have done our part of the bargain but the
State Government is not fulfilling its part of the bargain in terms of
providing basic infrastructure for a growing population,” she said.
Many local resident action groups have bitterly opposed the Government’s
urban consolidation plans.
In the riverside suburb of Putney, neighbouring Gladesville, some
residents say the Government’s decision to allow the Royal Rehabilitation
Centre Sydney in Ryde to sell 18 hectares of land to developers will result in
a doubling of the population with the construction of nearly 800 dwellings.
Rolf Clapham, a Putney protester and chairman of the Coalition Against
Private Overdevelopment, said the Urban Taskforce’s decision to research the
consequences of no development was ridiculous.
“We want development. We just don’t want it to be up to
six-storey-high towers and totally ignoring RTA traffic guidelines,” he
said. “I think it’s really clear that [protest groups] are not against
development; they are against our democracy being taken away and instead
planning being driven by big developer groups.”
In the inner-city suburb of Chippendale residents are concerned about
the State Government’s plans for an $800 million development on the site of the
old Carlton United Brewery.
The Minister for Planning, Frank Sartor, this month approved a concept
plan for the site that would allow for the construction of 2800 residences on
the 5.8-hectare site, and enough commercial space to employ 4800 people.