[+] NSW ‘Frankenstein’ Planning Model Moves at Snail’s Pace

Developers are counting the costs of planning time-frame blow-outs and a reticence to approve developments that could be controversial across some of Australia’s most populous states. It is a nationwide problem that managing director of EG Advisory Shane Geha says comes down to the “Frankenstein” planning model that is being swamped by the booming development and construction industry. “There isn’t a DA of any reasonable size that takes less than two years [to win approval],” Geha says. “Time is one of the parameters of business but it seems to be less and less a parameter of government. Those approval times are getting slower and slower, it’s ludicrous. “We have the slowest and most complicated system in the world.” Geha calculated a snail, at a speed of 0.05km per hour, could travel from Sydney to Canberra and back again before a significant DA was approved in New South Wales. ▲ Investa's plans to demolish the MLC Building and develop an A-grade office at 105-115 Miller Street are in planning limbo. Geha says it is this burdened system that is adding to the unaffordable landscape of cities such as Sydney, where the median house price is now more than $1.4 million , an increase of 25 per cent year-on-year, according to Corelogic. He says a house and land package in Epping costs about $1.1 million and that about $300,000 of that is fees and charges. “It’s all adding to an unaffordable landscape for our people,” he says. “I don’t know how my children will afford to buy in Sydney if I don’t help them. How are young people supposed to get into the market? It’s created intergenerational inequality.” The Australian planning model marries US zoning with British planning, which Geha says cannot sustain big cities. He says the constant Band-Aid approach to “fixing” the planning system merely adds further complexity. “It’s like the marriage of a man and a woman that don’t get on trying to raise the perfect child. It’s a Frankenstein planning model,” Geha says. “Nothing is happening in the system to improve it. It’s just more of the same if not worse, all in the pursuit of better outcomes. “Developers have three layers of stuff to contend with, it doesn’t improve if you just keep adding rules. “The court was not designed to adjudicate on planning issues. Councils should be making the hard decisions … we can’t use the court as a default approval body.” Geha says the adoption of the Design and Place SEPP late last year has already impacted timeframes. “When I started in this industry 32 years ago there was no community collaboration. DA documents were five pages—now the average is 200 pages. “We want nicer buildings and better architecture but we’re not necessarily getting it.” And Geha is not alone in his calls to simplify and improve the beleaguered planning laws in New South Wales. Chorus for reform A prominent architect in Sydney told The Urban Developer it often took twice as long to get through the approvals process as it did to build tower developments in the nation’s engine room. Several developers, who did not wish to be named, acknowledged they “as a matter of course” fleshed out their budgets and timeframes in anticipation of being bounced to the independent planning commission or other referral bodies. The NSW government’s Productivity Commissioner’s review into the NSW Planning System in 2021 showed NSW is the slowest planning system in Australia. UDIA NSW research shows delays in planning approvals are resulting in increased holding costs, particularly for rezoning and approval timeframes, which are having a tangible impact on project costs and house prices. Project timeframes: NSW v the Rest Categories NSW Other States Medium-density 200 days 70-105 days High-density 190 days 105 days Greenfield subdivisions 130 days 100 days ^Source: UDIA NSW Research Medium-rise projects are the lengthiest in terms of garnering approval, taking an average of 200 days, according to the UDIA. UDIA NSW chief executive Steve Mann says the state should emulate Victoria’s planning system reforms to unlock jobs, and solve the housing supply and affordability crisis. “If NSW aims to be the premier state in everything it does, why is NSW last behind the other states,” Mann says. “NSW needs to get more ambitious if is to tackle the housing supply and affordability crisis we face throughout the state. These are the types of reforms that NSW needs to undertake if the state is to thrive.” New minister says things are improving Newly-anointed Minister for Planning and Homes Anthony Roberts has inherited a clapped-out system with rusted-on inefficiencies bequeathed by outgoing minister Rob Stokes, according to Geha. “[Stokes’] principles were though well-intentioned, but of no practical use to anyone in delivering more timely housing or buildings,” Geha says. “They were a combination of sweet motherhood statements and ineffective platitudes.” ▲ Newly anointed Minister for Planning and Homes Anthony Roberts has taken over from outgoing Minister Rob Stokes. Just months into the job, Roberts has torn up the nine guiding principles mooted by his predecessor Rob Stokes . Stokes drew fire when he introduced the changes as he walked out the door of the planning office to take up the reins at Infrastructure, Cities and Public Transport late last year. Roberts had vowed to cut red tape, address the state’s housing supply crisis, and end “policy fatigue” weighing down the system. The move to revoke the planning regime has received industry support from the such bodies as the UDIA and Urban Taskforce, but not everyone is a fan. Geha said he commended the minister on the decision to repeal the principles. “They brought in another layer of unnecessary assessment that would hinder rather than help good design,” Geha says. “It is simpler and better without those principles and it’s a good thing that they are gone.” But the NSW chapters of the Australian Insititute of Architects and Australian Institute of Landscape Architects have condemned the backflip, saying it would overturn sustainable planning principles. AIA NSW president Laura Cockburn said it was a counterproductive decision from the NSW planning mininster. The state has the largest number of homes and multi-unit approvals in the pipeline, in addition to some 350 infrastructure projects worth about $2.7 billion. A spokeswoman for the minister, who declined to comment directly, says the government is “building a faster, simpler planning system to create jobs, encourage investment and deliver a pipeline of new homes” in line with the NSW Productivity Commissioner’s recommendations. “We’re helping councils slash by a third the time it takes for them to assess development applications and we’ve also helped cut the average time it takes to approve rezonings by more than a third,” she says. “And, we’ve established the Regional Housing Taskforce to recommend ways to tackle increasing pressures on housing supply and affordability. In the meantime, we’re making $30 million available to councils experiencing some of the highest growth in our regions. “Up to $1.4 million in funding will be available to 21 councils, each to deliver new infrastructure projects, if they develop and implement plans to address regional housing at a local level.” NSW has the second highest approvals and completions , behind Victoria. In the six months to January 31, 2022 planning proposals took an average of 345 days, 157 days below the 502-day target, regionally significant developments took about 326 days, and the expedited state significant developments process was an average of 84 days. But this data is not publicly available across any state or jurisdiction. It is impossible to know or measure councils against each other to wargame better outcomes. “If there’s never a speed camera, who's going to follow the speed limit?” Geha says. You are currently experiencing The Urban Developer Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. Click here to learn more.

[+] NSW ‘Frankenstein’ Planning Model Moves at Snail’s Pace

Want to read more?

Basilica to Business: London Office Tower’s Historic Rework

Neighbourhood Hotels Reinvent Urban Hospitality

Melbourne Developers Hit Back at Mayor’s ‘Lazy Landlord’ Plans

Shrinking Servo Network Heralds Development Prospects

Money Out of Thin Air: The Multibillion-Dollar Rooftop Housing Play

[+] NSW ‘Frankenstein’ Planning Model Moves at Snail’s Pace

Want to read more?

Basilica to Business: London Office Tower’s Historic Rework

Neighbourhood Hotels Reinvent Urban Hospitality

Melbourne Developers Hit Back at Mayor’s ‘Lazy Landlord’ Plans

Shrinking Servo Network Heralds Development Prospects

Money Out of Thin Air: The Multibillion-Dollar Rooftop Housing Play

Billbergia Six-Tower Rhodes Scheme Wins Approval

Quintessential Pays $175m for Green Square North Tower

Plan to Double Canberra’s Student Beds Moves Ahead

Billbergia Six-Tower Rhodes Scheme Wins Approval

Quintessential Pays $175m for Green Square North Tower

Plan to Double Canberra’s Student Beds Moves Ahead

Immersive Walkthroughs Give Older Stock a Competitive Edge