draft submission - Draft Parramatta Road Urban Renewal ... · The results of traffic modelling for...

City of SydneyABN 22 636 550 790

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www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au TRIM 2015/042418

16 February 2015

1.0 Executive summary

2.0 Recommendations

3.0 Draft Parramatta Road Urban Renewal Strategy

4.0 Urban renewal – leading practice

5.0 Response to the Draft Strategy

6.0 Additional comments to promote successful urban renewal

Contents

City of Sydney Submission on the Draft Parramatta Road Urban Renewal Strategy February 2015

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1.0 Executive Summary

Parramatta Road (The Great Western Highway) is a critical east-west artery

connecting the Central Sydney and Parramatta CBDs, and is an important direct

gateway to the Sydney CBD. The Parramatta Road corridor has excellent access to

employment land and to the public transport network, however severe congestion

and urban decay have limited the contribution that the corridor makes to providing

housing and employment opportunities to support Sydney’s projected growth.

The Draft Parramatta Road Urban Renewal Strategy proposes renewal of a 20 km

‘corridor’ aiming to provide 50,000 new homes and space for 50,000 new jobs by

2031. The City in general supports renewal along the ailing Parramatta Road corridor

and the precinct-based approach adopted in the Draft Strategy. However, successful

renewal will be contingent on a significant reduction in traffic volumes expected along

Parramatta Road which may (or may not) come as a result of the WestConnex

motorway project. This will allow for improved urban amenity, attracting residents and

businesses; and the re-prioritisation of road space, allowing for a focus on public and

active transport modes. Without a reduction in traffic volume by whatever means, a

significant improvement in the urban environment, transport choices, and contribution

to housing and employment growth, will not be realised.

Unfortunately, the Draft Strategy provides very little detail to support the housing and

jobs growth targets for Parramatta Road. It does not link projections to the

metropolitan strategy, and makes no mention of metropolitan sub-regional plans or

their preparation. As the Department of Planning’s own planning policy work has

argued, these must be key considerations in developing any urban renewal strategy,

and in the absence of key ‘evidence-based’ information and reference to the NSW

State Government’s strategic land-use planning framework, it is very difficult for local

government to play their part in the renewal process.

The NSW State Government has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with

nine of the Councils along the corridor, including the City of Sydney. The

Memorandum makes a commitment to an extensive community engagement process

and an engagement strategy, which has not yet been acted upon. It also makes a

commitment to developing an affordable housing target for the corridor, which is not

in the Draft Strategy. The City calls on the Government to make good on these and

other significant commitments in the next version of the renewal strategy.

The City of Sydney has considerable recent experience in conceiving, planning for,

and delivering urban renewal. We have also commissioned research into urban

renewal practices, identifying those which contribute to successful projects, and we


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have compiled some guiding principles which UrbanGrowth should use to guide

renewal of Parramatta Road.

The Camperdown precinct identified in the Draft Strategy straddles the Marrickville,

Leichhardt, and Sydney Local Government Areas. Most of the sites identified within

the City of Sydney have already been developed as strata medium density residential

and mixed use developments; or have planning controls that allow for such

development. They are unlikely to be changed as a result of the Draft Strategy. The

precinct also includes some sites which are subject to the City’s recent Planning

Proposal: Employment Lands. Considering the considerable research and strategic

work undertaken as part of the planning proposal, these sites should remain excluded

from the precinct.


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2.0 Key recommendations

The following key recommendations will promote best practice urban renewal along

the Parramatta Road corridor. Further recommendations are contained within the

relevant chapters of the submission.

1. The timeframe for development of the urban renewal strategy should be

realistic and not fall subject to political or other considerations. The project

timeframe in the Draft Strategy should be revised to allow for genuine and

thorough community engagement with the corridor strategy.

2. Renewal is dependent on the reduction in transport volumes on Parramatta

road as a result of the WestConnex. There is an expectation in the public

arena, as a result of the Government’s communications in support of

WestConnex, that there will be significant traffic reductions along the

corridor. The results of traffic modelling for WestConnex should be released,

and renewal must be reconsidered if there is no reduction in traffic volumes.

Without a reduction in traffic volumes, the urban amenity, including air

quality, will not be appropriate for dense residential development.

3. Successful urban renewal depends on the timely provision of infrastructure to

support increases in density. This can include transport infrastructure to

minimise future car dependence, and also the social and community

infrastructure required to maintain quality of life and foster strong

communities. Often, land acquisition costs are a major component of

infrastructure funding. The Draft Strategy has not raised the issue of

infrastructure funding, but has given a signal to the market that there will be

targeted density increases, thereby encouraging land speculation and

increasing the price of the land that will be required for infrastructure. The

strategy must clearly signal how infrastructure will be funded, and if there will

be impacts on land values as a result.

4. The strategy needs to demonstrate how the jobs and housing targets were

determined to allow for an understanding of why they are appropriate and

achievable. Information should include demographic forecasts, transport

capacity forecasts, and other assumptions used in the development of the

targets.

5. UrbanGrowth must use the precinct planning phase as an opportunity to

foster genuine community engagement along the corridor, through the

development of precinct options that allow communities to understand the


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trade-offs associated with options, and to shape outcomes within the

governments specified jobs and housing targets.

6. UrbanGrowth needs to adopt a set of guiding principles to guide

development in the corridor and promote consistency and transparency in

decision-making. The principles must be worked on in consultation with all

stakeholders to ensure broad acceptance and ownership for the duration of

renewal.

7. Housing diversity and affordability is a key component of inclusive and

productive cities. Sydney is consistently rated as one of the least affordable

cities to live. The strategy must investigate, plan for and implement strategies

to provide diverse and affordable housing to address Sydney’s housing

needs.


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3.0 Draft Parramatta Road Urban Renewal Strategy

This submission has been prepared by the City of Sydney (the City) in response to

exhibition of the draft Parramatta Road Urban Renewal Strategy (the Draft Strategy)

by UrbanGrowth NSW.

The introduction will set out the context for the submission; the first part of the

submission will address each of the chapters in the Draft Strategy; and the later part

will focus on considerations that will help promote successful renewal of the corridor

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3.1 Summary of the key features of the Draft Strategy

The Draft Strategy proposes the revitalization and renewal of Parramatta Road, a 20

km corridor connecting the Sydney and Parramatta CBDs and traversing the inner-

west of Sydney.

The corridor is characterised by heavy traffic flows of up to 100,000 vehicles per day,

severe congestion, and an urban environment dominated by traffic movements, noise

and emissions.

Renewal of the corridor has been precipitated by the WestConnex motorway project, a

commuter tollway widening and extending the existing M4 motorway from western

Sydney, and ultimately connecting with the City West link, and in future to the new M5

East motorway. The route of WestConnex has changed since the preparation of the

Draft Strategy and no longer runs below the eastern section of the renewal corridor.

The Draft Strategy proposes to renew a series of precincts along the corridor,

improving north-south connections, and increasing residential densities and providing

for new employment opportunities. The Draft Strategy also proposes public transport

improvements, although at this stage the nature of these improvements are not

detailed. The Draft Land Use and Integrated Transport Concept shown at page 8 of

the Draft Strategy indicates the location and extent of the eight nominated precincts,

and shows existing public transport infrastructure alongside the proposed portal

connections to the planned WestConnex motorway. No indication is given of planned

public transport improvements in the Draft Integrated Land Use and Transport

Concept.

The Draft Strategy sets ambitious housing and employment targets of 50,000 new

jobs and 50,000 new homes in the corridor by 2031.

3.2 Aims and objectives of the Draft Strategy

The Draft Strategy includes the following aims and objectives:

increase the quantity and diversity of housing;


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expand transport choices;

grow the number of job opportunities in Western Sydney;

improve liveability.

These aims and objectives, while supported by the City, are limited and

must be expanded to include aims which address:

sustainability, which must be a primary consideration for renewal of a

precinct which is expected to make contributions to jobs and housing

growth over the next 20 to 30 years;

an explicit commitment to the provision of affordable housing

opportunities as established in the latest NSW Government metropolitan

strategy, A Plan for growing Sydney.

The Draft Strategy sets out its approach to renewal as:

long-term;

focussed on precincts;

reshaping transport into an integrated vision;

improving the public domain;

facilitating quality development.

This approach is supported by the City, but must be expanded to develop a

vision for:

renewal that is informed by genuine, early and thorough engagement

with residents and affected communities and stakeholders;

renewal which aims to contribute, in a tangible and identifiable way, to

the alleviation of known urban problems and which delivers public benefit

outcomes.

3.3 Parramatta road, urban renewal, and the City of Sydney

Parramatta Road is an important gateway to the City of Sydney, and to Sydney’s Central

Business District (CBD). The Parramatta Road corridor is a key entry to the City for

workers and visitors using heavy rail, buses, and private vehicles. Congestion in this

corridor is a barrier to increasing the number of workers and visitors who can access the

Sydney CBD, and so affects productivity. An improved Parramatta Road corridor, with

upgraded public transport capacity and reduced congestion, can have a positive effect on

the productivity of the Sydney CBD and the highly-productive medical and technology

centred business clusters at Sydney University and Pyrmont on the City’s western edge.

Urban renewal, properly conceived and implemented, has the potential to significantly

enhance both liveability and productivity along the corridor itself. The City’s approach to

urban renewal is guided by its strategic plan, Sustainable Sydney 2030, which was


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developed after extensive research and consultation, with residents, business

communities, institutions and other levels of government telling us what sort of city they

wanted in the future. The City has significant experience in urban renewal projects, with a

proven track record in community engagement and strategic planning of renewal projects

including Harold Park, the Ashmore Estate, and Green Square. At Green Square Town

centre, the City has proved an effective partner in the implementation of large-scale

renewal, recently confirming a $440-milllion investment to provide local services and

facilities over the next ten years.

3.4 City of Sydney and NSW Government Memorandum of Understanding – Parramatta Road

The City and the NSW Government have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding

(MoU) for renewal along the Parramatta Road corridor, which has listed the following as

outputs from the NSW Government to the City:

the development of a shared affordable housing target to increase the

supply of rent controlled affordable housing dedicated in perpetuity to

community housing providers throughout the Parramatta Road Urban

renewal project.

an extensive community engagement process driven and resourced by the

Parramatta Road Urban Renewal program with involvement from Council

the protection of heritage conservation values and existing areas of open

space and the scale of attractive streets

investigation of a reduction in traffic volume along Parramatta road through

sustainable urban development design

consideration of processes and policies to ensure all development achieves

design excellence

investigation of the use of the Parramatta Road corridor for public transport,

on-street parking, active transport, improved crossings and an improved

public domain

the development of shared targets to deliver open space, community and

cultural facilities

investigation of mechanisms within planning instruments for funding

community benefits and infrastructure.

Of these promised outputs:

Affordable housing has not been mentioned at all in the Draft Strategy. This

needs to be addressed as a matter of priority.


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Community engagement has been limited and poorly publicised. The City

has had no input to, and no knowledge of, any strategy that sets out future

engagement activities.

As of yet, there are no targets for open space, community and cultural

facilities for the future population of the Parramatta road corridor.

Considerable work remains to be done to ensure that there is progress towards these

and the remainder of the agreed outputs, during the next stages of the urban renewal

process. Heritage conservation, design excellence, and transport commitments should be

progressed through the detailed corridor design and precinct planning phases following

this exhibition period. Mechanisms within planning instruments for funding community

benefits and infrastructure should be considered in the context of additional available

funding and benefit-sharing opportunities through the renewal process.


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4.0 Urban renewal

Urban renewal involves transforming under-used or neglected parts of a city into

places that better meet social, environmental and economic needs. While this may

occur through market forces, typically government intervention is needed to initiate,

incentivise and guide the process to achieve these public interest outcomes needed

by a city. The City agrees Parramatta Road is an opportunity for urban renewal.

4.1 Best practice urban renewal

The City recently commissioned SGS Economics1 to research international and

Australian examples of urban renewal to identify the principles, processes and

governance that led to successful urban renewal outcomes. The analysis of projects

such as Elephant and Castle and King’s Cross in London, Hamburg’s Hafencity,

Brooklyn Navy Yards, Melbourne Docklands and Barangaroo revealed what is

needed and what should be avoided to deliver urban renewal with long-term benefits

for a city.

The project should consider the following key best practice principles related to

Parramatta Road.

Create shared value for the different stakeholders and communities,

including the residents, workers, businesses and visitors that are

connected to Parramatta Road and its precincts. The shared value is to

focus on the long term public interest, and should look to solve existing

urban, social, environmental, and economic problems.

Develop the plan with stakeholders to create a shared vision and

understanding of the long term public interest. Authentic and ongoing

engagement throughout the Parramatta Road project will create a sense

of ownership. Broad engagement will support planning outcomes that

contribute to the Sydney region.

Take a long term view for enduring and authentic development.

Unrealistic and compressed timeframes can skew the development

objectives and threaten long term public interest outcomes. A long term

program will allow Parramatta Road to evolve to best serve the public

interest of Sydney.

Agree non-negotiables such as design standards, affordable housing,

transport improvements and contributions to infrastructure that reflect

community needs and address the urban issues of the precincts along

Parramatta Road.

1 SGS Economics and Planning, Best Practice Urban Renewal: Input into the Bays Precent Forum, November 2014, http://sydneyyoursay.com.au/bays-precinct/documents/17800/download


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Establish clear development objectives and options to meet the

objectives. Options need to be tested through consultation and against

public interest outcomes with trade-offs made clear.

Embody a local character and integrate development with the

surrounding areas. The diversity of the communities, businesses and

building stock in the Parramatta Road precincts are assets to be built

upon. The project will be a missed opportunity if development does not

improve the areas adjoining the Parramatta Road precincts through

better access, services, facilities and the environment.

4.2 City of Sydney and UrbanGrowth Memorandum of Understanding – major urban renewal projects

The City has also entered into a separate Memorandum of Understanding covering

all UrbanGrowth-led renewal projects within the City’s boundaries. This MoU sets out

overarching principles to guide how urban renewal is to be undertaken and what it is

to achieve, including:

delivering urban renewal that is consistent with the City’s Sustainable

Sydney 2030 plan, and with the Draft Metropolitan Plan for Sydney to

2031;

balancing strategic land use and high quality public domain outcomes

with development that is viable and can support project delivery;

understanding, documenting and prioritising the contribution each project

can make to strengthening Sydney’s global city status;

early and ongoing public participation, and the fostering of a publicly

understood narrative explaining why renewal and major change are

taking place, and how it benefits the community;

delivering diverse housing outcomes, benchmarked against comparable

global cities, and with a housing mix that sustains the city in the long-

term;

identifying and encouraging the industry sectors required to drive

Sydney’s future employment needs, and enabling the priority sectors;

identifying, planning for and prioritising infrastructure requirements to

support renewal, developing clear funding mechanisms in line with

forecast demand from the additional development; and

quality in design, with design excellence processes to be put in place for

all development phases, and an understanding of the need to respect,

and transition to, surrounding development and heritage.

These are important principles in ensuring that renewal meets long-term objectives

for the Sydney, and should be an integral consideration developing the strategy.


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Further work is needed to demonstrate outcomes for Parramatta Road are consistent

with these principles.


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5.0 Response to the Draft Strategy

This section of the submission will address the individual chapters in the Draft

Strategy.

5.1 Introduction to the Draft Strategy

The NSW Government focus on urban renewal in the rundown Parramatta Road

corridor is welcome. The corridor has many inherent and under-capitalised strengths,

including excellent access to employment and education opportunities, and to mass

transit such as Sydney’s heavy rail system. However, as the Draft Parramatta Road

Urban Renewal Strategy (the Draft Strategy) points out, Parramatta Road has

become ‘overpowered by traffic congestion, it has ceased to be a comfortable place

for anyone’ (p3).

Additionally, the decision to focus on nominated precincts where conditions are more

suited to urban renewal is a sensible one. A strategy which advocated a true corridor

approach, attempting to renew each and every place along its extent, would be less

likely to succeed, given the length of the corridor and the seriously degraded

condition of the urban environment which surrounds it.

The Draft Strategy aims to set out how the corridor can be reimagined as a series of

liveable, transit-oriented precincts contributing employment and housing opportunities

to address the needs of a growing global city. Importantly, it sets a target of 50,000

new dwellings and 50,000 new jobs in the corridor by 2050; although the initial

targets set for the nominated precincts have a 2031 horizon. However, the Draft

Strategy fails to demonstrate why the targets are appropriate or how they could be

achieved.

It is very significant that the Draft Strategy fails to provide a set of principles to guide

development towards achieving these ambitious targets. Urban renewal often

involves significant compromise and trade-offs. A set of Principles, developed in

close consultation with corridor stakeholders, will help guide decision-making when

these trade-offs have to made, and allow community, developers and others to

understand the rationale behind decisions. These Principles consistently applied, and

if sufficiently robust and tested with stakeholders, have the potential to significantly

add to community acceptance of renewal.

The Draft Strategy fails to provide targets for other essential components of

successful urban renewal such as community and social infrastructure; open space

and leisure facilities; and affordable and diverse housing. Failure to properly consider

and plan for these will seriously threaten the success of any renewal efforts.


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The largely conceptual, promotional nature of the Draft Strategy restricts the

comments that can be provided in response. The Draft Strategy introduces the idea

of urban renewal, and sets out some of challenges presented by Sydney’s growth.

Information needs to be provided about how the jobs and housing targets were

derived, and their relationship to the wider planning framework, including the recently

released metropolitan strategy ‘A Plan for A Growing Sydney’.

Integral to the successful urban renewal is the provision of public transport to improve

amenity, access, and connections to jobs. The transport and amenity outcome must

be delivered first to stimulate private sector investment.

The Draft Strategy fails to provide any of the key information - demographic analysis,

market analysis, urban design studies, detailed planning principles, public transport

mode-share targets, expected traffic volumes, infrastructure requirements and

proposed funding methods, clear statements of constraints and opportunities for the

precincts – that informs decisions about urban renewal. Without that information, it is

difficult to make informed comment about the urban renewal outcomes proposed and

whether they meet the aims and objectives of the Draft Strategy.

Recommendations

UrbanGrowth must work with stakeholders to develop a set of Principles

to guide development in the corridor and in each precinct to improve the

consistency and transparency of decision-making.

The next iteration of the Parramatta Urban Renewal Strategy needs to

include sufficient contextual information to allow for an understanding of

the desirability and achievability of the housing and job targets.

The strategy should contain targets and benchmarks for community and

social infrastructure; diverse housing including affordable rental housing;

schools; hospitals and medical facilities; and open space and leisure and

recreation facilities.

5.2 About transport WestConnex and Urban Renewal The Draft Strategy is not clear about the role that WestConnex will play in the

renewal of the corridor. On page 11 it asserts that ‘4,600 trucks and 20,000 cars per

day’ will be removed from the corridor between Concord and Camperdown. In other

places it talks about changes to traffic volumes (p4), but without being specific about

reductions or increases in road space available for other modes of transport.

The City’s understanding of the WestConnex project, through presentations given to

staff and Councillors, suggests that there will be little or no reduction in traffic on


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Parramatta Road, and certainly not in areas near to WestConnex portals. Without

reductions in surface traffic improvement to urban amenity, noise and air quality

conditions in Parramatta Road cannot be achieved and the opportunities for quality

urban revitalisation will be lost.

The City requests that any modelling work or other information that provides evidence

of the extent of volume reduction should be made publically available. Further, the

case for higher density residential development fronting Parramatta Road must be

revisited if traffic volumes are not reduced.

Recommendations

Modelling and other information concerning WestConnex should be

released to provide direct evidence of the traffic volume reductions in the

corridor, to allow an understanding of the likely urban amenity.

An integrated transport solution Reimagining the Parramatta Road as a multi-mode transport corridor, combining

public transport with active transport, and allowing space for a reduced number of

essential private car journeys, will be key to a successful urban renewal program.

However, the Draft Strategy contains no firm commitment by the State Government

for the provision of suitable public transport in the Parramatta Road corridor. The

provision of suitable public transport infrastructure improvements in this corridor is

vital to create the conditions for quality urban renewal. The City’s preference is for

public transport solutions that can be achieved within the existing corridor, through

the reprioritizing of road space.

The City is concerned with the proposed timeline of the WestConnex (M4 East

Section) and the delivery of urban renewal in the corridor. Without consideration of

future public transport requirements at an early stage of the project it is possible that

options could be severely constrained by land use changes and the effects of the

WestConnex on traffic in the corridor.

Little detail has been provided on the capacity of the existing public transport system

to accommodate growth in the Parramatta Road Corridor. The Draft Strategy appears

to nominate Bus Priority lanes in Parramatta Road as the preferred public transport

infrastructure improvement to cater for the extra trips generated. However, there is no

information provided on what capacity is available and if this would be sufficient to

cater for the trips generated by urban renewal. Nor is there any detail on whether the

option would be for kerb-aligned or centre-aligned bus lanes, with each having a

significant impact on road operations and roadside environmental quality.


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It is likely that most of the trips generated by urban renewal in the Parramatta Road

Corridor will need to be accommodated by rail. Yet, no information has been provided

on the capacity of the western line to cope with growth in these areas. Of the eight

identified renewal precincts, Auburn, Kings Bay, Leichhardt and Camperdown will not

have easy access to the heavy rail network and will have to rely on upgraded public

transport within the corridor. Renewal areas to the north of Parramatta Road itself will

experience particularly strong disconnection from the rail network.

The Draft Parramatta Road Urban Renewal Strategy provides no information on the

likely origin and destination of the trips generated from and to the corridor. Trip

generation modelling should be undertaken in order to inform public transport

requirements and assess the ability of public transport to cope with additional trips.

Consideration should also be given to the walking catchments around stations and

the bus corridor and the location of residential development along the corridor.

A focus on active transport options, such as walking and cycling, in and around

transport hubs is welcome. Significant investment will be required to provide the

necessary upgrades to key walking and cycling routes, providing north-south

crossings over the road corridor, and improving the roadside environment to make

active transport attractive. The City recommends that UrbanGrowth give early

consideration to the funding mechanisms required for such improvements, including

whether a special infrastructure levy, value capture, or other landowner contribution

as a result of significant land value uplift is warranted. It is likely that the Amenity

Improvement Program budget of $200 million, quoted in our Memorandum of

Understanding with UrbanGrowth a, will fall far short of the amount needed to fund

the required upgrades.

An additional concern for renewal in the Parramatta Road corridor is that of noise and

air quality along the corridor. Residential development along Parramatta Road

should only be considered where adverse noise and air quality impacts can be

managed and well-designed residential developments are created. The City would

prefer to see new housing located away from traffic and adverse noise and air quality

conditions.

Recommendations

The reconfiguration of Parramatta Road should concentrate on

maximising the use of road space freed up by the removal of significant

traffic volume due to the WestConnex road tunnel, to provide alternatives

to private vehicle use including walking, cycling and a dedicated public

transport corridor.

UrbanGrowth develop and implement a infrastructure funding scheme to

fill any shortfall in infrastructure funding.


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5.3 About urban renewal

The City has included comments directly addressing the conditions required for best

practice urban renewal at The Draft Strategy aligns itself to the Metropolitan Strategy

goals of urban renewal and densification around good public transport networks. As

noted previously, the Parramatta Road corridor has excellent access to Sydney’s

heavy rail network, and also to the inner-west light rail at Taverners Hill. It therefore

has the potential, with the necessary upgrades to active transport connections, to

operate as an effective public transport corridor. These can form the basis of an

excellent integrated transport plan for the corridor. For Parramatta Road to function

as a truly transit-oriented renewal corridor, prioritising public transport and active

transport modes, it is imperative that a space for public transport is reserved within

the corridor.

Design excellence The Draft Strategy makes a welcome connection between good design and liveable

density. The design quality of precincts, and the buildings, spaces, streets within

those precincts, will be a major determinant in the liveability and success of the

renewal project. The City has a strong focus on design excellence in fostering

liveable density in its renewal precincts such as Green Square. The City’s Design

Excellence Bonus allows proposals – over 55m in Central Sydney and 25m in other

areas – to achieve a floor space bonus after going through a competitive design

process. The process improves proposals, resulting in increased liveability, and

greater acceptance of density in the community. A similar framework should be

included in the precinct planning for the Parramatta Road corridor to promote liveable

density.

Recommendations

A framework to ensure design excellence for precincts and significant

buildings should be part of the precinct planning process.

Community engagement Community engagement on a diverse 20km corridor is a challenge for the project, but

experience has shown that early and genuine engagement will increase the likelihood

of success for any renewal project

Community engagement commitments are contained within a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) between UrbanGrowth NSW and the councils along the

corridor. The commitments are for engagement techniques that respond to the needs

of diverse stakeholders along the corridor. The MoU also raises the intention to use a

variety of engagement techniques ranging from information sessions to deliberative

democracy.


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To date, engagement has been patchy and has not lived up to the commitments in

the MoU. Specific engagement on the draft strategy has been low-key and does not

appear to have been well-publicised. It is likely that this will not have had the

expected interest from communities along the corridor. As a result, feedback from

engagement will not be as useful in directing and shaping the project. Additionally,

there still seems to be little engagement or ‘buy-in’’ from the public towards the plan.

This endangers community acceptance of the final plan and makes implementation

much harder.

The precinct planning phase offers a genuine opportunity for the community to shape

decisions around how renewal is implemented. When the City undertook renewal of

the Harold Park site in Forest lodge, early engagement was critical to the project’s

success. We had a series of events including information sessions and workshops,

attending community events such as fun days and barbecues, and maintained an on-

line presence. The workshops allowed the community to directly shape outcomes

through interaction with a series of built form outcomes, with the community having

considerable say over how building heights and form, street and open space layout

would all contribute to the renewal precinct. The end result is a renewal with broad

community acceptance, and with a market profile as a highly desirable place to live.

Recommendations

UrbanGrowth should commit to an intensive consultation program, using

a variety of methods and inclusive of the demographic diversity in the

corridor, at the precinct planning stage.

That UrbanGrowth use the precinct planning phase as an opportunity to

foster genuine engagement with communities along the corridor, through

the development of precinct options that allow communities to shape

outcomes but within the specified targets.

5.4 The Camperdown precinct

The Camperdown precinct identified in the draft strategy, and shown in Figure 1,

straddles the Leichardt, Marrickville and Sydney local government areas, and

generally includes the area from Bridge Road/Susan Street in the west, through to

the Missenden Road area in the east. It is an area of largely industrial sites, providing

essential services to local communities and industry. The proposed renewal precinct

extends both north and south of Parramatta Road, with proposed density

concentrated to the west of the intersection between Pyrmont Bridge Road and

Parramatta Road. The draft strategy indicates areas of less intensive renewal

extending east along Broadway; and to the west towards the Leichhardt precinct. A

potential link to the proposed WestConnex is shown directly to the west of the most

intense renewal portion of the precinct.


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The description of the Camperdown precinct, and the analysis that goes with it, is

brief and lacking any real depth or insight. There is no analysis of the local

constraints that have limited intensification of this precinct, or recognition of recent

significant development in some areas. The vision articulated for the future of the

Camperdown precinct – that it will continue to evolve as a vibrant mixed-use precinct

– is weak and does not justify its inclusion in a renewal strategy. The precinct needs

a stronger vision, clearly articulated its role in the strategy.

A small portion of the precinct lies within the City of Sydney, identified on Figure 1. It

is generally between Pyrmont Bridge Road and Parramatta Road to the east of Mallet

Street. Much of this area has been subject to recent medium density residential

development.

Preliminary analysis suggests that developed sites in this precinct have a density in

the order of 400+ persons per hectare. This development has been informed by the

City’s planning controls, which allow for floor space ratios of up to 3:1, and maximum

building heights of up to 22m, or 7 storeys. The planning controls were derived from

the outcomes of the City’s urban design study for the area. This study involved

extensive analysis and community consultation, and recommended a framework to

allow growth in the Camperdown area while maintain a high quality urban

environment. This study could provide an excellent basis for understanding the

opportunities for wider growth in the Camperdown precinct.

The draft urban renewal strategy shows an additional area extending along

Parramatta Road, along the boundary of Sydney University, and again along

Broadway between City Road and Railway Square. The purpose for including these

lands is unclear, as they are either very unlikely to be developed, as in the case of

the Sydney University lands; or already substantially developed, as is the case with

sites along Broadway. The intended role of the lands should be clarified.


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Figure 1 – the Camperdown precinct, with the City of Sydney lands highlighted within

the red-dashed box

The Draft Strategy includes approximately 2.1 hectares along the northern side of

Parramatta Road, either side of Ross Street and bounded by Arundel Street to the

north. This area is part of a planning proposal prepared by Council, and which has

been publicly exhibited with an expectation of being recommended to Council for

approval in 2015.

The Planning Proposal: Employment Lands is based on thorough strategic analysis

on the contribution these and other employment lands make towards the region. It

proposes a flexible B7 Enterprise Corridor zoning for this area, allowing a range of

employment generating uses in a location close to the Central Business District. The

City of Sydney Employment Lands Study identified these particular areas as

providing important support for Global City functions and for local businesses,

enterprises, and the University of Sydney. As part of the planning proposal, the City

will allow affordable housing as the only form of non-employment generating uses on

these sites. Given the commitment to furthering the provision of affordable housing,

and recognising the significant amount of strategic work and the recent nature of the

planning proposal, the City requests that these lands are excluded from the

Camperdown precinct. A map showing the preferred boundary for lands within the

City to be included as part of the Camperdown precinct is included as an Attachment. Recommendations

The sites in the vicinity of Ross Street, and to the north of the Parramatta

Road corridor, are to be excluded from the Camperdown precinct.


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UrbanGrowth should adopt the City’s preferred precinct boundary for the

Camperdown precinct.

5.5 About governance and planning Memorandum of Understanding The City of Sydney resolved to enter into an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

with UrbanGrowth to help deliver renewal along the corridor. This MoU is specific to

the Parramatta Road and sets out a collaborative approach with three tiers of

cooperation:

Mayors Group

State/Local partnering group

Integrated Project Team

It also sets out a division of responsibilities between state and local government, and

makes commitments about what each party will deliver through the process.

The Integrated Project Team and other collaboration initiatives taken in this approach

to renewal are supported where they have real involvement and influence in decision-

making. True collaboration at these levels and at this early stage give a much

greater chance ‘bringing the community along’ and of successful implementation of

renewal outcomes. Having staff from Councils form part of the integrated Project

Team, tasked with drafting the Urban Renewal Strategy and the Precinct Plans, will

help coordination efforts along the diverse 20km corridor, and provide a pool of local

knowledge for the Integrated Project Team to draw from about local conditions, local

development preferences and opportunities for renewal.

Mayors, as local community leaders, are a key conduit between local communities

and the renewal authorities in this collaborative approach, and are well placed to

explain the renewal approach and garner support for well-justified interventions and

plans. Although the MoU agreed between the City and UrbanGrowth has been

endorsed by councils along the corridor, to date there have been no meetings of the

Mayors group. This group must meet as soon as possible in order to give the high

level direction envisaged and agreed to. If mayors and other local leaders are unable

to take their communities and convince of the need for change, and that the correct

approach to change, then implementation will be very difficult.

Recommendations

It is recommended that UrbanGrowth, as a matter of high priority,

convene a meeting of the Mayors Group, to provide the high-level

direction and guidance envisaged in the MoU.


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Statutory planning The adopted renewal strategy will be implemented through the existing framework of

statutory plans in NSW. The Draft Strategy envisages that this will be either through a

council’s own statutory plan – its local environmental plan; or through a state

government facilitated Urban Activation Precinct. The Draft Strategy is not clear

about which approach will be used in which circumstances, or if indeed Urban

Activation Precincts could be imposed on councils.

The City’s preferred approach is for councils to implement renewal through their own

local environmental. It allows a council to effectively engage with its community, and

encourages ownership of the renewal plan and leadership in its implementation.

Taking on the plan-making responsibility must be on the understanding that the

renewal process has resolved any urban design, transport and amenity concerns;

and that the renewal outcomes are realistic. If the collaborative approach to renewal

can be realised as set out in the MoU, then presumably communities will have been

convinced of the need for renewal and the appropriateness of the plan, and so the

local environmental plan approach will have little risk attached. It has the advantage

of allowing communities the opportunity to apply some flexibility in the way the

renewal targets are achieved, with the potential for improved local outcomes. In some

circumstances, for instance where council resources are not available, a council

should be able to opt for an Urban Activation Precinct approach. But this approach

should not be imposed on a council.

The Final Strategy should provide greater clarity about the statutory planning

framework for implementation of the renewal strategy. It is not clear what will be done

to resolve any disagreements between state and local government about the

eventual targets. Will the State government force through the targets and precinct

plans, or will local government be able to take carriage?

Recommendations

The final strategy needs to be realistic and achievable with community

issues resolved prior to implementation by a council.

The statutory planning arrangements for implementing the renewal

should be made very clear.


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6.0 Additional comments to promote successful renewal

The following comments are for the consideration of UrbanGrowth and raise matters

that are seen as critical components of successful renewal, both in general and

specific to the context of New Parramatta Road.

6.1 Infrastructure planning and funding

Infrastructure includes the roads, footpaths, cycleways, drainage, parks, libraries,

child care centres and other community facilities as well as regional infrastructure

such as public transport, schools and hospitals.

Early planning for infrastructure is a key feature of successful urban renewal.

Infrastructure encourages private sector investment in the short term and builds

successful and productive places and communities in the longer term.

Compact cities and higher density communities, such as those proposed in the Draft

Strategy, have a greater reliance on early investment in public infrastructure due to

the number people living and working in the precincts and the limited capacity to

retrofit infrastructure in a high density environment. Increased density requires new

services and facilities make places liveable, productive and allow higher density living

to be a viable choice for households. Early planning for infrastructure is essential.

The project is also a rare opportunity to address current infrastructure shortfalls within

precincts and work with existing local infrastructure delivery programs. This is

appropriate given the communities neighbouring the identified precincts will

experience the effects of increased traffic and demand for services.

In its memorandum of understanding with the City, UrbanGrowth NSW acknowledges

the importance of coordinating land use and infrastructure planning. The MoU notes a

key policy driver for UrbanGrowth’s activities is optimising public investment in

infrastructure through integrating land use and transport planning.2 The MoU’s

principles for urban renewal speak to identifying, benchmarking and costing

infrastructure based on the needs arising from development then implementing with

funding mechanisms.3

The Draft Strategy notes that infrastructure requirements will be dealt with in future

detailed precinct planning. The Draft Strategy sets targets for new development in

those precincts but fails to acknowledge the infrastructure needed to support that new

development. The City is concerned that without upfront coordinated planning of

infrastructure alongside development targets it is not known whether the necessary

2 Major Urban Renewal Projects within the City Of Sydney, Memorandum of Understanding Between the City of Sydney and UrbanGrowth NSW, 1 July 2014 – 30 June 2017, Section 2 Policy Settings 3 Ibid, principles 5.8 and 5.9


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infrastructure can be provided to meet the demand generated by the new

development.

The City has experience in providing the infrastructure that is underpinning the

renewal of Green Square, an area expected to provide for 20,000 jobs and 54,000

residents by 2030—not dissimilar to the population increases along the Parramatta

Road corridor.

Several methods have been used to fund infrastructure in Green Square, including

section 94 developer contributions, bonus floor space for the community

infrastructure and the Town Centre Infrastructure Strategy. In addition, the City of

Sydney has budgeted $440 million of its own funds over the next ten years to cover

the shortfall in funding, as under current policy settings it is only possible to leverage

so much from the development process.

To date the NSW Government has only committed $200 million towards the amenity

improvement program along the whole corridor. This will be insufficient to provide the

necessary infrastructure even when combined with a standard one per cent

development contribution levy.

Forward funding of infrastructure is needed. Waiting for development contributions

will mean higher costs, particularly in land acquisition for infrastructure. Early

provision of infrastructure will also encourage development and private sector

investment in the precincts.

UrbanGrowth NSW will need to use a number of initiatives to provide the necessary

infrastructure at the appropriate time, including:

A section 94 or 94A developer contributions plan. A section 94A plan will

almost certainly need a development levy in excess of the standard one

per cent levy. The Government’s current $20,000 cap on developer

contributions will mean other funding measures are needed.

An upzoning deferral process, as used at Green Square Town Centre,

where the new planning controls are held in abeyance until infrastructure

contributions are payed or agreed to be delivered. This ties infrastructure

costs to the increase in land value rather than placing it on developers

and home buyers and holds back speculation as land stays at the

current controls until development is ready to commence.


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Bonus floor space schemes where additional development rights can be

unlocked from the provision of or contribution to necessary community

infrastructure.

Special infrastructure levies, such as those used to fund regional

infrastructure in the Growth Centres.

Tools that share the value created from increasing land values will best serve the

long term public interest of the Parramatta Road corridor. Allowing windfall benefits of

upzonings to flow only to land owners will be a missed opportunity with true

developers, the local community and tax payers bearing the costs.

Land use and infrastructure planning will also need to identify the land needed for

infrastructure such as schools, parks, recreation facilities and child care centres early

and prior to implementing the upzonings throughout the precincts. If UrbanGrowth

and Government wait until after land has been rezoned it will be harder to acquire,

more expensive, there will be less opportunity to acquire sites and it may also that the

development targets cannot be achieved. Communities and tax payers will again

bear the costs if land is not acquired at the appropriate time.

Recommendations

As an urgent priority, develop and infrastructure plan that identifies the

local and regional infrastructure needed to meet new demand and

existing shortfall, accurately costs the infrastructure, provides funding

measures and allocates responsibilities for delivery.

Coordinate infrastructure provision with local infrastructure delivery

programs to create efficiencies of scale and address current shortfalls.

Seek to share the benefits and value created from upzonings to reduce

the costs to communities, home buyers and developers.

Identify and acquire the land needed for infrastructure such as parks,

recreation facilities and schools prior to upzoning land throughout the

precincts to reduce costs to taxpayers and communities.

Use a range of tools to efficiently fund infrastructure including

contributions plans, deferral mechanisms, bonus floor space and special

infrastructure levies.

6.2 Housing diversity Providing a diverse range of housing for Sydney’s communities is critical for a

productive and inclusive city. Meeting Sydney’s housing needs extends beyond the

simple supply targets to providing housing with types, tenures and price points

needed by the communities along Parramatta Road.


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Sydney is also one of the most unaffordable markets in the world,. It was recently

ranked third least affordable behind Hong Kong and Vancouver4 . Sydney ranked

second worst of 27 global cities in terms of “cost of rent” in PricewaterhouseCoopers’

(PwC’s) Cities of Opportunity 2012 global cities survey5 (note since 2012, PwC no

longer includes “cost of rent” as a measure)).

The Government’s ‘Plan for Growing Sydney’ recognises that there must be housing

choice to support the needs of communities as well as improving housing supply and

undertaking urban renewal. It includes an action to plan for opportunities for

affordable housing and to plan for local housing needs through housing strategies6. It

includes an additional action to provide affordable housing in Government-led urban

renewal projects 7.

The City’s Sustainable Sydney 2030 strategy aims to provide housing for a diverse

community, and sets an ambitious target for 7.5 % of all housing in the City to be

affordable rental housing by 2030. Urban renewal is a key opportunity to deliver

affordable housing.

The Parramatta Road precincts can contribute to the housing needs of the local

communities by providing a choice of housing that is affordable and well connected to

local jobs or employment centres with public transport. The Camperdown precinct is

close to the University of Sydney and the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. It presents an

opportunity to provide housing for students and key workers, as well as

accommodating the growing numbers of young families in the area.

The City is currently exploring housing diversity options with UrbanGrowth as part of

the Central to Eveleigh project. The findings of this project should be applied to the

Camperdown precinct program, while a similar analysis should be undertaken for the

other precincts in the corridor.

The City of Sydney is creating opportunities for affordable housing throughout its

employment lands through recently prepared draft planning controls and a draft

affordable housing strategy. The tools include allowing affordable housing as an

additional permitted use in certain business zones, applying a levy and preparing a

policy for site specific rezonings to provide affordable housing.

Affordable housing levies were implemented early in the Green Square and Ultimo

Pyrmont urban renewal areas allowing developers to plan for the costs when

4 SGS Economics and Planning, Best Practice Urban Renewal: Input into the Bays Precent Forum, November 2014, http://sydneyyoursay.com.au/bays-precinct/documents/17800/download 5 Price Waterhouse Coopers, 2012, Cities of Opportunity 6 A Plan for Growing Sydney goal 2 page 8, Goal 2: A city of housing choice, with homes that meet our needs and lifestyles 7 ibid, Action 2.3.3, p77, Deliver more opportunities for affordable housing


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purchasing development sites. These schemes have been successful in providing

about 600 affordable housing units in the City. The City secured land for around 50

affordable housing units in the rezoning of the Harold Park Urban Renewal site. A

similar benefit sharing process could be applied to sites along the corridor benefiting

from changes to the planning controls.

Recommendations:

Investigate and implement planning measures to achieve a range of

housing types that meet the needs of communities including the

provision of affordable rental housing in the Camperdown precinct.

Align the Draft Strategy with ‘A Plan for Growing Sydney’ (Action 2.3.3)

by providing affordable housing in this Government-led urban renewal

project.

ends

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