The City Deal announced by the Federal and State Governments for Western Sydney will be an excellent governance structure to drive growth in the region, says the Urban Taskforce.
“When the concept of a City Deal was announced by the Federal Government earlier in the year the Urban Taskforce called for the first City Deal to focus on Western Sydney and leverage the potential growth related to Badgerys Creek Airport,” says Urban Taskforce CEO, Chris Johnson. “So we are very positive about the announcement by the Prime Minister and the NSW Premier that a City Deal has been established for this area.”
“The involvement of all three tiers of government should provide an excellent framework to ensure that the appropriate infrastructure is provided and that planning takes into account macro issues related to the Airport along with smaller scale local issues.”
“The focus in the City Deal on jobs is important to ensure that the mass exodus from west to east for jobs is reversed. Currently around 200,000 people travel from Western Sydney to jobs in the East every work day. The Prime Minister’s call for a 30—minute city approach where jobs are close to where people live is strongly supported.”
“It will be interesting to see just what incentives the City Deal can incorporate to ensure that new jobs are located in Western Sydney. Clearly the proposed airport will become an attractor of jobs but much more diversity in jobs types and flexible land use zones will be needed.”