The Urban Taskforce supports design excellence as an outcome of the development of new buildings and communities in New South Wales. We believe there are a number of ways to achieve this and that the additional cost for a project to achieve design excellence must be proportional to the significance of the project. Our members have raised concerns that some design competitions can add up to $1 million to the cost of a residential project, and these costs are passed onto the buyers. Sydney is currently experiencing a housing affordability crisis, and it is important that the design excellence processes does not have excessive costs. This is particularly when the SEPP 65 Apartment Design Guidelines set out many design excellence requirements.
Read full Submission: 20180704 – Draft Design Competition Guidelines – Department of Planning and Environment
