2 August 2011
Release of two new land parcels welcome news
The development industry today welcomed news that the government would formally release two areas of land for urban development in Western Sydney. The Urban Taskforces chief executive, Aaron Gadiel, said that the decision takes these areas one important step closer to subdivision.
The NSW Government today announced that agreements have been reached under the precinct acceleration protocol with the two landowners. This means the land will be formally declared released and enables more detailed precinct planning to occur. However, an actual subdivision cannot take place until precinct planning has been completed, land rezoned and development approval granted.
In itself todays decision does not guarantee that new houses will be built, Mr Gadiel said.
However, it is an important step forward for these two areas.
The challenge that the government and local council now have is to complete the precinct planning swiftly, so that an actual rezoning can occur.
Under the former government, the precinct planning process was known to meander for years.
Twenty months ago, the former government ˜released five precincts in the growth centres, and yet none of them have been rezoned.
Mr Gadiel said that Sydney desperately needed a stronger housing supply, and this had included more detached houses on their blocks in Western Sydney.
Under the last government, just 3,000 residential blocks were being produced a year, when their own targets required 6,000 blocks, he said.
Lot production would have to double, just to meet the existing, very modest, targets for the supply of new houses.
No Australian capital city approves less homes, per person, than Sydney.
This has to change if Sydney is to become a more affordable place to live.
The Urban Taskforce is a property development industry group, representing Australias most prominent property developers and equity financiers.
