24 June 2013
The recent approval of three major retail hubs in Western Sydney that could add 4,000 new jobs demonstrates how a more flexible approach to retail zoning can boost jobs, says the Urban Taskforce.
Retail developments are great contributors to jobs and zoning laws need to be flexible to encourage new projects, says Urban Taskforce, CEO Chris Johnson. The three recently approved projects at Penrith, Narellan and Liverpool are good examples of where rezoning has led to thousands of new jobs.
Victoria has recently adopted more flexible approaches to where retail outlets can be located and NSW needs to do this as well. Currently overly restrictive planning attitudes that require retail to be located in major centres misunderstands the need for consumers to be able to shop near where they live.
We need more retail outlets that are easily accessible across Metropolitan Sydney to cut down on car travel to major centres. The Penrith Panthers development demonstrates the value of an out of town retail hub that supports the local community. The Orange Grove retail centre is another example of a new location for retail while the Narellan Town Centre project builds on an existing centre.
With comments on the White Paper on planning reform due at the end of this week we believe the importance of retail outlets for the creation of new jobs needs to be emphasised in submissions along with the need for more flexibility in where retail zones can be located.
