Urbanised has been pleasantly surprised by the level of activity on new project proposals in Sydney. If these projects end up getting through the approval process we will be a long way towards an industry rebound.

Most of the projects that we have seen are significant job generators. Not one is reliant on a government grant or stimulus. For instance, one employs around 2,500 people and will involve repositioning of a landmark hotel into mixed use and provide considerable new public open space. The problem is that Councils are having significant difficulty dealing with these new projects. Most Councils have just completed their Local Strategic Planning Statements (LSPS) as part of their hierarchy of plans. Those LSPS’s are constructed in an economic environment that no longer exists.

Now this is not necessarily the fault of Councils. Council and their officers must follow due process. It’s just that the process has become so burdensome, with the supplanting of Greater Sydney Commission Plans over the top that it is tying the process up into a Gordian Knot. A hierarchy of plans is a hallmark of a command economy and are not ideally suited to assessing applications that have not previously been anticipated. If you want evidence of the confusion just look at project justifications in Council reports where the information from the GSC Plan of Three Cities is interpreted completely differently between Council officers and planning professionals on behalf of the proponents - this is just the tip of the iceberg.

It is highly unlikely that a process that has just been implemented will be changed now - even though it should be. Perhaps the fast track approach needs to be more prominent in planning until such a time that the economy is in a similar position as it was when the hierarchy of plans were drafted. If something is not done many of the projects on the drawing board will go into waste paper bin.