Sydney Metropolitan Strategy

The Metropolitan Strategy

The Metropolitan Strategy is a framework to secure Sydney’s place in the global economy by promoting and managing growth.

It sets directions for Government on the timing and location of investment in infrastructure, to deliver the best possible services to the community.

The Strategy is for the next 25 years, over which time Sydney’s population is anticipated to grow by around 1.1 million people.

The guiding principle of the Metropolitan Strategy is sustainability – economic, social and environmental.

Towards the goal of sustainability, the Strategy has five key aims:

  • Enhance liveability
  • Strengthen economic competitiveness
  • Ensure fairness
  • Protect the environment
  • Improve governance
City of Cities – a Plan for Sydney’s Future

The City of Cities report was released on 4 December 2005. It builds on earlier elements of the NSW Government’s Metropolitan Strategy including the Metropolitan Water Plan and the plans for Managing Sydney’s Growth Centres.

To ensure equitable access to Sydney’s infrastructure and services the plan concentrates growth in centres.These centres are Sydney CBD, North Sydney, Parramatta, Liverpool and Penrith.

Housing and jobs growth will occur predominately in Sydney’s west with the roles of Penrith and Liverpool as regional river cities to be elevated.

The planning will be Stateled, however subregional planning will involve consultation with local government and their communities. Planning for neighbourhoods, town centres and villages will be undertaken at a local council level, based on the principles of the Metropolitan Strategy.

The Metropolitan Strategy consists of seven substrategies:

1. Economy and Employment

The Strategy plans for 500,000 new jobs in the next 25 to 30 years. More than half of these new jobs will be located in Sydney’s west.

The Plan ensures sufficient supply of suitable employment lands. The majority of jobs will be located in main centres, which will provide for more sustainable and targeted infrastructure and transport planning.

The Plan includes the following new jobs:

  • 500,000 in Sydney
  • Nearly 230,000 in Greater Western Sydney
  • 150,000 in Sydney’s global economic corridor from Macquarie Park to the airport and port
  • nearly 250,000 in Sydney’s main centres
  • nearly 100,000 in South West Sydney
  • nearly 100,000 in North West Sydney
  • 18,000 in Parramatta
  • up to 15,000 in Liverpool
  • more than 10,000 in Penrith
  • 125,000 in employment lands
2. Centres and Corridors

The Plan will establish employment targets in Sydney’s major centres, increase housing options, achieve high amenity suburbs and protect corridors for employment.

The Plan includes:

  • Over 130,000 new dwellings in Sydney’s 27 strategic centres
  • Sydney’s centres to accommodate almost 45 per cent of all jobs
  • Around 63,000 new homes and 50,000 new jobs in the Parramatta to City corridor

The Centres Reinvigoration Report, to be released in 2006, will identify opportunities and constraints for all of Sydney’s strategic centres.

3. Housing

According to the Plan, an extra 640,000 new homes are required in Sydney to 2031. This is over 23,000 homes each year.

The Plan concentrates development on centres, towns, villages and neighbourhoods, with twothirds of
all new housing to be within walking distance of jobs, shops and public transport. 80 per cent of suburban streets are protected from increased density.

The Plan determines that 30 to 40 per cent of new housing will be provided in new land release areas.

The remaining 60 to 70 per cent will be in Sydney’s existing areas. Over 30 per cent of new housing in existing areas will be in the three corridors of Parramatta to Sydney City, the Sydney City to Airport, and North Sydney to Macquarie Park.

The Plan addresses the affordable housing issue by ensuring an adequate housing supply, creating an Interdepartmental Committee and supporting the use of planning mechanisms to supply low cost housing.

4. Transport

The Plan aims to improve the city’s transport by providing public transport connections between the main centres across Sydney.

In linking the main centres, the Plan encourages transport use by creating 43 new bus corridors and rolling out the railway clearways project. The North West – CBD – South West Rail Link will provide a continuous line between Rouse Hill, through the economic corridor to Leppington and Campbelltown.

The South West and North West growth centres will benefit from:

  • Extension of bus corridors
  • New North West – CBD – South West railway line
  • The $524 million North West Transitway
  • Improved existing arterial road networks
  • A $3.6 billion roads package 2 Sydney’s freight movements are expected to double by 2020. The Plan supports the expansion of Port Botany and upgrading the metropolitan rail freight network, including construction of the Southern Sydney Freight Line which will be a dedicated freight corridor.

As part of the Metropolitan Strategy’s aim of ensuring the liveability of Sydney’s communities, the Plan encourages walking and cycling. Guidelines developed by the Department of Planning and the Roads and Traffic Authority to improve planning for walking and cycling will be implemented throughout the Strategy.

Sustainable transport use will be encouraged through a number of measures including:

  • Tcard integrated ticketing across all public transport by 2007
  • Improved transport interchanges and facilities
  • Improved accessibility
  • Implementation of the Planning Guidelines for Walking and Cycling
  • The metropolitan parking strategy
  • The extended implementation of TravelSmart voluntary travel behaviour change program.
5. Environment and Resources

The Plan conserves Sydney’s unique environment, protects important agricultural lands and improves access to open spaces.

The Plan will ensure no new land is released outside of the identified growth centres unless it meets strict sustainability criteria. The actions and directions of the plan seek to contain Sydney’s urban footprint and minimise Sydney’s environmental footprint. It includes direction for more sustainable use of water and energy as well as minimising waste.

The Plan sets out cross government targets to improve the health of our waterways, protect our plants and animals, improve air quality, minimise noise pollution and protect Aboriginal cultural heritage.

6. Parks and Public Places

The Plan’s focus in terms of open spaces is to improve access and facilities for existing parks and recreational areas, and ensuring there is sufficient regional and open space in Western Sydney’s new growth areas.

In North West and South West growth centres the Growth Centres Commission will plan for regional sporting and recreation facilities for over 400,000 residents.

7. Implementation and Governance

Subregional planning is the next step in the implementation of the Metropolitan Strategy. This will involve strategies for each subregion of local government areas, grouped according to similar issues and challenges in terms of planning for growth and managing change.

Subregional planning will be undertaken by groups of councils and will be led by the Department of Planning. Each subregion will complete a strategy to be completed in 2006/07.