Greater Sydney’s population is expected to grow from five to eight million over the next 40 years. To ensure a seamless expansion, communities in every suburb will need to consider what they want and need from the growing metropolis, according to the Property Council of Australia.
“With our city’s population increasing and housing affordability and cost of living important issues, we need to work together to look at ways our city and its built environment can be more efficient, environmentally friendly and enhance the character of our city,” the Council said.
“Communities will need to be solutions focused; Sydney is growing, that is a fact. Drawing battlelines and standing behind a banner of ‘we’re full’ is not adequate or helpful,” said Jane Fitzgerald, NSW executive director of the Property Council of Australia.
“Reports of opposition to a proposed development in Eastern Sydney that would provide 25 extra homes, more car parking and a community centre, on a car park site no less, is a disappointing contribution to the discussion.
“Rose Bay currently has a population density of 31.33 people per hectare – compare this to the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the UK, where there is a density 130.8 people per hectare and we can gain some much needed perspective.
“People who live across Sydney must be able to benefit from our city’s growth, but they must also contribute to better overall outcomes for the community; we should not see some suburbs contributing more than others.”
Fitzgerald added that this year, it was no longer acceptable to expect Western Sydney to shoulder all of the city’s growth.
“We should all stick to known truths; we need 725,000 more homes by 2036, we need more infrastructure to cater for this growth and we need to find innovative ways to provide and fund this infrastructure – within this paradigm we must find solutions and compromises.
“Empowering our Councils to better plan for their growing communities, supporting experts to make decisions on planning, financial support for local infrastructure from the State Government and positive contributions from the community must all play a part.
“We can all do better when engaging with the issue of Sydney’s growth and 2018 should be the year when real strides are made to find solutions.
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