I’m pleased the oversight has occurred with advertising these Development Control Plans as it gives me an opportunity to further showcase a great weakness of the city, and that is planning.
Our planners ought to be freed from the Lord Mayoral ideological development shackles.
Last week we had the own goal regarding “Barangaroo”, proposing a rethink. Criticism of the Cty was rife. The people of Sydney are excited for this world-class precinct and a wonderful new asset for all to enjoy.
Baranagaroo is the Placido Domingo of urban renewal.
And so too the Southern Industrial Area or Employment Lands could be but won’t be with this uninspiring City of Sydney Development Control Plan.
As a reminder The Southern Industrial Area is State significant, being 265 Hectares of largely degraded and dilapidated land 5km from the City. This makes the area nine times larger than Barangaroo and four times larger than Macquarie Park.
A modest proposal would provide housing for 100,000 workers with 75,000 associated workspaces. It would reduce congestion, fund local infrastructure and growth including a large amount collected for Affordable Housing.
The City of Sydney’s ingrained small mindedness and highly ideological stance is the biggest roadblock in Sydney’s development as a global city. Purposefully excluding market driven residential and limiting it to industrial and commercial archaeology, will push this under-utilised wasteland into further decay.
Recent media attention has drawn requests for numerous briefings of Members of Parliament.
I’m telling them that the City of Sydney is adrift in policy failure, which they clearly see with the endless Barangaroo whinging and whining. Like Barangaroo, the City deserves to be stripped of this state significant area.