THE REFERENCE GROUP FOR THE STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT OF PERTH AND PEEL MET LAST WEEK. WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT? THE STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT FOR PERTH AND PEEL IS LIKELY TO UNDERPIN THE BIGGEST SHAKEUP OF PLANNING IN PERTH SINCE THE RELEASE OF THE STEPHENSON HEPBURN PLAN IN 1955.
The Strategic Assessment is a process to give greater surety to both the development industry and the conservation sector about where development can, and can’t, occur by bringing together state and federal environmental requirements under a single process. In simple terms it is supposed to identify areas that impact on “Matters of National Environmental Significance” such as Carnaby Cockatoo foraging habitat. The plan would identify land to be conserved and where development is approved, what the requirements are, such as offsets. This approach allowed for precinct scale planning rather than project by project approval, which is smart.
Like all good things, the devil is in the detail. In this case, the detail is in the subregional structure plans which are being developed concurrently with the Strategic Assessment documentation. At this time we cannot tell you whether to be alert or alarmed because we have not seen the detail, however the agenda appears to be to slow or stop growth in some greenfield areas with an expectation that infill development will fill the supply gap.
Infill remains complex and difficult in Perth and is a priority matter on the UDIA Advocacy Agenda. To make infill easier we need a highly evolved transition strategy and several billion dollars of upfront investment in public transport and other services. Without major government commitment we risk the stagnation of the property market which occurred in Sydney; in the 1990’s the NSW government sought to contain greenfields development, however infill projects failed to deliver sufficient product even though as a percentage it grew substantially. The highly constrained greenfields housing market fell to just ten percent of new stock and the resulting overall shortage saw rapidly growing rental and property prices followed by chronic housing affordability issues. Bankwest estimated that in 2010 it took 5.7 years to save for a deposit in Sydney and the National Housing Supply Council estimated that 45.7% of low income households in NSW were in stress due to the housing affordability crisis.
More information on the process can be found on the Department of Premier and Cabinet website and the first documentation is likely to be released in early 2015.