Premier Chris Minns calls it rebalancing Sydney. Finally,after many months of angst from local councils over the uncertainty of looming building targets,the NSW Labor government has detailed how it wants Sydney to grow. The west will keep expanding,but now the east and north must too.
Minns has delivered on his oft-repeated rhetoric about the western suburbs no longer being forced to take the burden of the city’s growing pains. The notoriously recalcitrant Ku-ring-gai Council has seen its five-year housing target increase from 3000 to 7600,while Woollahra’s target has nearly quadrupled from 500 to 1900. North Sydney and the Northern Beaches have doubled to 5900 each.
The pain is being spread elsewhere,too. Canada Bay,Mosman,the Inner West and Hornsby will also have significant uplifts compared to what was already planned or in the delivery pipeline. The new targets will dramatically move new builds toward infill housing closer to the eastern seaboard,instead of greenfield development on the western city fringe. Infill is predicted to make up 82 per cent of the state’s new homes,and greenfield 18 per cent.
The direction of housing in NSW has been laid out clearly,but the hard work really starts now. Policies and targets are in place,now the homes must be delivered. This will be a significant challenge for the Minns government,councils and the private sector.
Minns used his state of the state speech at the Committee for Economic Development Australia on Wednesday toreveal the council-by-council targets. Councils have argued that these targets should have preceded major planning announcements,such asthe transport oriented developments around train stations,or the low- to medium-rise density plans to deliver more townhouses,more terraces,more low-rise apartments and manor houses.
The councils probably have a point. Many councils sparred with the government over its housing vision and,until now,the lack of concrete detail. But the Minns administration has largely addressed that,as well as reassuring councils that incentives are on the table if they deliver.
The more councils drive development,the more they will receive for infrastructure in their area. It is a welcome carrot,although the stick also exists. Councils that fail to meet their targets will miss out on cash for parks,sporting fields and footpaths,and planning reform changes mean councils cannot simply knock back a development application without good reason.
But not everything is within the government’s control. Crippling construction and increased financing costs are two major roadblocks. Earlier this week,a report from KPMG outlined the impact of the tough economic conditions,with statistics revealing more than 11,170 dwellings in Sydney were “approved but not yet commenced” at the end of December. About 80 per cent of the shelved projects were townhouses and apartments. The housing crisis will not be solved if houses are approved but not built.