13 June 2013
The approval of 11,000 dwellings this financial year from Part 3A applications in NSW, demonstrates the importance of state leadership in driving housing supply, says the Urban Taskforce.
The 11,000 housing approvals from Part 3A applications so far this year equates to half the approvals across Metropolitan Sydney, says Urban Taskforce CEO, Chris Johnson. While this is good news for the industry and home purchasers it does demonstrate the positive impact of the previous state government intervention in the planning process.
Our concern is that the pipeline of Part 3A projects is coming to an end just at the time a new planning system begins its implementation phase. The current government does not support the Part 3A process and has stated that planning will go back to communities.
The Urban Taskforce is concerned that the new planning system could take two years to implement down to the local plan level and that without Part 3A project approvals, housing supply in NSW could go backwards.
What is desperately needed is an interim strategy to drive housing supply that fills the void from Part 3A projects and the likely void while the new planning system works its way through the four levels of plans with their greater amount of community involvement.
It is essential that the recent uplift in housing approvals and completions continues and this will need strong state government leadership. Hopefully the NSW budget will contain stimulus measures for the housing and building industry.
