12 December 2009
A freedom of information application by the Urban Taskforce has revealed secret housing targets used by the NSW Department of Planning for rezoning land in Sydney.
They were happy to publish the long-term pie-in-the-sky goals, but kept the most important targets under wraps, Mr Gadiel said.
The secret targets determine how much land will be available for new apartments, terraces and townhouses in existing suburbs.
They cover the first nine years of the Metropolitan Strategy to 2013.
Mr Gadiel said he could see why the targets had been kept secret.
Theyre woefully inadequate, he said.
If these figures had been made public when they were given to councils in 2006, we could have warned the community that a crisis was looming.
Instead the supply of new homes has been allowed to collapse.
Rents are soaring out of control and our roads are congested – thanks to a lack of compact pedestrian-friendly homes around transport infrastructure.
Mr Gadiel said the Metropolitan Strategy promised 460,000 extra homes within the existing footprint of Sydney by 2031, but the secret targets only allow for 103,000 extra homes by 2013. All homes built since 2004 count towards this target, except where the new home replaces an old one.
If these targets are met and thats doubtful a third of the way into the strategy we will see only 22 per cent of the promised new homes, he said.
The really hard rezoning decisions were secretly deferred into the never-never.
Mr Gadiel said the states per-capita rate of new housing construction has halved since the Metropolitan Strategy targets were applied.
Yet the Department of Planning claims its meeting its targets, he said.
We now know why.
The targets were set so low that there could not possibly be enough housing available to keep up with demand. Instead, home-buyers and renters have been sold short by low-ball targets.
As a consequence, Sydneysiders are bearing the costs of poor planning.
Rents in outer suburban Sydney have gone up by more than 20 per cent in the last two years.
In the middle ring suburbs, rents have jumped near to 30 per cent.
Sydneys congestion speaks volumes about the lack of pedestrian friendly apartment development around train lines, bus lanes and other transport corridors.
The Metropolitan Strategy targets apply from 2004 to 2031 a target for 2013 (which is one third of the way into the strategy) should account for at least one third (33 per cent) of the long-term goal.
On a regional basis the figures are stark:
- in the Northern Beaches, only 2,100 extra homes are to be provided by 2013, a mere 12 per cent of the 2031 goal of 17,300 homes;
- in the Lower North Shore a meagre 5,800 extra homes are to be provided by 2013, only 19 per cent of the 2031 goal of 30,000 homes;
- in the Inner West, just 7,700 extra homes are to be provided by 2013, merely 26 per cent of the 2031 goal of 30,000 homes;
- in the Eastern Suburbs, a paltry 5,700 extra homes are to be provided by 2013, just 28 per cent of the 2031 goal of 20,000 homes;
- in the Central Western suburbs around Parramatta, only 17,500 extra homes are to be provided by 2013, just 18 per cent of the 2031 goal of 95,800 homes;
- in Hornsby, only 3,100 extra homes are to be provided by 2013, 28 per cent of the 2031 goal of 11,000 homes;
- in the North-West, just 7,300 extra homes are to be provided by 2013, a derisory 9 per cent of the 2031 goal of 80,000 homes; and
- in the South West, only 6,400 extra homes are to be provided by 2013, a mere 12 per cent of the 2031 goal of 53,000 homes.
The Government is about to review the Metropolitan Strategy now is the time to put in place ambitious targets that have a chance of meeting Sydneys housing needs.
This will require tough decisions about the future of our city but its a debate that Sydney has to have.
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 $78 billion to the national economy each year and creates 849,000 direct jobs.
