The Sydney Business Chamber has described the first Sydney Regional Plan in two generations to genuinely link land use and transport planning as the strongest indication that if implemented, Sydney can manage its growth while remaining a productive and competitive economic region.
 
“The Draft Plan fulfils the brief of the Greater Sydney Commission to bring land use and transport planning together in a whole-of-government strategy that recognises that Sydney faces significant challenges to manage its growth,” the Executive Director of the Sydney Business Chamber, Patricia Forsythe said.
 
“Three things stand out in the Draft Plan and that is the overt linking of growth with transport infrastructure; a recognition that future development may be shaped by digital technology that may alter how cities and their networks function; and the importance within the big framework of the role of place-based planning so that precincts and suburbs will have the capacity to develop strong and unique characteristics within the broader Region,” Mrs Forsythe said.
 
“What is clear is that the Eastern City, Sydney’s global city, is already a highly competitive economic region when compared to other global cities but that for all of Sydney to achieve its potential, the job opportunities in the Parramatta CBD and the future Western Sydney Airport Region will have to be a focus of government strategy and enhanced spending on infrastructure.
 
“The role of Collaboration Areas and the Western City Deal are central to the capacity to get a strong cooperative outcome not only between the levels of government but within each tier of government.
 
“What the Plan makes clear is that land use planning cannot be delivered in a silo and that various Agencies of Government cannot embark on their own strategies in isolation from the agreed plan,” Mrs Forsythe said