Double vision: planning debate caught in a maze of committees

By Leesha McKenny
Updated August 30 2014 - 3:08am, first published 2:28am
Yes, minister: Pru Goward is under fire for setting up too many committees. Photo: Wolter Peeters
Yes, minister: Pru Goward is under fire for setting up too many committees. Photo: Wolter Peeters
A new committee will develop some of Sydney's most valuable public harbourfront land, including The Rocks and Circular Quay. Photo: Supplied
A new committee will develop some of Sydney's most valuable public harbourfront land, including The Rocks and Circular Quay. Photo: Supplied
Ripe for redevelopment: White Bay (left) Glebe Island and Anzac Bridge (centre) and Blackwattle Bay (right). Photo: Robert Pearce
Ripe for redevelopment: White Bay (left) Glebe Island and Anzac Bridge (centre) and Blackwattle Bay (right). Photo: Robert Pearce

If in doubt, set up a committee.

That is the increasing view among development and community groups of the government's planning strategies, six months from the state election.

"I think it's a slight 'Yes Minister' approach to sorting things out," Chris Johnson from the Urban Taskforce said.

Planning Minister Pru Goward announced this week that a committee of senior bureaucrats had been formed to articulate a "new vision" for Sydney's harbour.

Led by former transport mandarin Les Wielinga, the new committee has been told to deliver a coordinated foreshore strategy, along with advice about managing the area stretching from the Botanic Gardens to the Bays Precinct around Glebe and Rozelle. The committee's deadline, budget and meeting schedule are yet to be determined.

But the announcement of the committee comes just a month after a separate announcement of the "Bays Precinct Urban Renewal Program", another initiative to develop "one plan and one vision" for 80 hectares of – presumably some of the same – harbour-front land.

That group, led by the government's property development arm UrbanGrowth, will be guided by an "international summit" of experts to be held in November.

It will also build on the work of yet another committee, the Bays Precinct Implementation Committee. This was formed by the government last year to implement the "key directions" of a 2012 report by the Bays Precinct Taskforce.

Mr Wielinga said the objective of his committee was to unite the "patchwork" of different government agencies behind a single strategy that would protect and enhance the "cultural heritage and economic value" of the foreshore.

"I would have thought on its face having a coordinated strategy for dealing with all of the foreshore areas makes good sense," he said.

But the announcement has had the rare effect of uniting rival sides of the planning debate – in confusion.

"How will all these organisations work together? Who will be responsible for what?" asked Better Planning Network, a coalition of more than 460 community groups.

"Recently there have been a range of government announcements, and it is unclear how all of these various bodies will fit together," the chief executive of Urban Development Institute of Australia NSW, , Stephen Albin, said.

Some of the frustration comes down to the proliferation of such committees while important policies continue to be delayed.

Ms Goward is yet to say when the metropolitan strategy – the government's plan to accommodate an extra 1.6 million Sydneysiders in the next two decades – will be finalised.

"The release of the plan is imminent," she said on Thursday, while unveiling a plan for 6000 new houses in North Parramatta.

Sydney's projected population has been revised upwards by 300,000 since the draft document was released last year.

A spokesman for the minister said she "makes no apologies for taking the necessary time" to ensure the preparation of the strategy was thorough.

He said the same was true of the Greater Sydney Commission – a new agency that will "streamline" the government's infrastructure and urban planning priorities, once it is created.

Local Government NSW, which represents the state's councils, wrote to Premier Mike Baird this month seeking more "concrete detail" following a news release announcing the commission in June.

"We haven't had a reply," its president, Keith Rhoades, said.

with Eryk Bagshaw

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