29 May 2014
The recent update on demographic data for Sydney projects a population growth of 20% more than that proposed in the 2013 Draft Metropolitan Strategy for Sydney.
“The 2013 Metropolitan Strategy for Sydney listed an expected population increase over 20 years of 1.3 million people while the 2014 projections indicate an increase of 1.575 million people,” says Urban Taskforce CEO, Chris Johnson. “The number of homes needed has increased from the 2013 prediction of 545,000 to 664,300 in 2014 or an extra 120,000 more homes needed.”
“If the robust population growth continues over 50 years we will need to double the number of houses or apartments in Sydney from the current 1,673,800. Clearly this is a big task and this will require a pro-growth attitude from community groups and councils and strong leadership from the state government. The stalled planning reforms will need to be reactivated to help drive housing supply.”
“Adding more urgency to the need to increase housing supply is the projection that 600,000 people will leave NSW between 2011 and 2031. That means that 20,000 people will leave NSW each year presumably because of the cost of housing. If these people stayed in NSW we would need another 8,000 homes a year or 160,000 over 20 years.”
“On these new figures Sydney will need 33,000 new homes to be completed each year and another 8,000 if the out migration is stemmed. Last financial year Sydney had 21,000 home completions, well below what is needed.”
“The Urban Taskforce congratulates the NSW Government on the quality of the demographic data on the Planning and Environment website. The graphics are very clear and the messages about the extent of growth across the state and across the Sydney Metropolitan area are well presented. It is important that community groups are aware of the changing nature of our population and the implications this will have on the existing built environment. Over the next 20 years Sydney residents will see some dramatic changes to the shape of Metropolitan Sydney flowing from our increased population.”
The Population, Household and Dwelling Projections are accessed here.
http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/en-au/deliveringhomes/populationandhouseholdprojections/yourarea.aspx
