12 August 2009
The release of 800 hectares of new employment lands at Eastern Creek and Horsley Park will be a welcome boost to Western Sydney employment, according to the Urban Taskforce.
The land is located at the intersection of the M4 and M7 in Western Sydney. Its release has made been possible by the governments commitment to fund the $80 million Erskine Park Link Road up-front.
The Erskine Park link road will connect the employment lands with a four-lane road to the M7 through Lenore Lane and Old Wallgrove Road.
This decision will open up a substantial area of land for new job-creating industry, Mr Gadiel said.
Once this land is fully developed, 16,500 workers will have the opportunity to live and work within the region.
Every minute Western Sydney residents save on commuting is another minute they can spend at home with their families.
Now more than ever Western Sydney needs more opportunities for local jobs.
Mr Gadiel said last years state budget flagged that the release of 11,000 hectares of rural land could support $2 billion in new job-creating development.
This is the first tranche of land from this massive area to be made available for development, he said.
We hope the government will not stop here.
They will need to take further action to make more land available for job-creating industries.
Its great to see more land available for warehouse and distribution centres, however, the government should also consider making land available for business parks that include commercial office and retail buildings.
Mr Gadiel said the $180,000 state infrastructure charge for each hectare of developable land was much higher than expected.
The current state levy for industrial land in the nearby north west and south west growth centres is $68,000 per hectare.
A levy set at almost three times the nearest comparable charge will impact on the commercial feasibility of development in the area.
The Urban Taskforce is a property development industry group, representing Australias most prominent property developers and equity financiers.
For every $1 million in construction expenditure, 27 jobs are created throughout the broader economy. The construction activity made possible by property developers contributes $69 billion to the national economy each year and creates 709,000 direct jobs. The construction industry is Australias third largest source of employment.
