Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 129 $10,500 + EXTRA COST $4,000 $12,500 $3,500 $15,000 $13,500 $10,500 $4,000 $12,500 $3,500 $15,000 $13,500 State Environmental Planning Policy 65 and the Apartment Design Guide (ADG) are the documents that set standards for apartment design in NSW. The ADG and its predecessors were only intended to be guides but councils have turned them into absolutes on the basis that they represent the government’s position on standards. Over the last two years the Victorian Government has undertaken a review of apartment design standards and it is interesting to see that many of the NSW standards were rejected. This particularly relates to minimum apartment sizes and to the requirement for 70% of apartments to have sunshine into the apartment living room in mid-winter. These requirements when applied to Sydney’s CBD high rise areas mean projects become almost impossible to comply thus eliminating many projects that would be acceptable in Melbourne or Brisbane. During the discussion on apartment design standards in Melbourne a local architect, Craig Yelland, assessed that if the NSW SEPP 65 standards were introduced to Melbourne that would add in the order of $145,000 to the cost of an apartment. It is interesting to see that the current difference in cost between the average Sydney apartment compared to Melbourne is $250,000 and to Brisbane is $350,000. The Urban Taskforce supports good design for all housing types but we are concerned that some of the design standards are contributing to the fact that Sydney apartments are so expensive. In less dense areas many of the SEPP 65 standards can be achieved but in higher density CBD areas we believe there can be a relaxation of some of these standards that will still allow good urban living amenity. The Urban Taskforce is currently researching this area and will produce a detailed report shortly. Many large housing projects will get an approval with conditions that require the developer to get further approvals or planning proposals are held up because of concerns from government agencies. Even councils find they are held up waiting for responses from the same government agencies. The 40 projects held up currently in the planning system in Sydney are mainly waiting for input from these government agencies. Typical agencies are Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) along with Transport for NSW who get involved in road capacity, congestion and traffic studies. Despite the fact that the Department of Planning has exhibited heights and floor space areas for a precinct the RMS will often intervene to undertake Mesoscopic Traffic Studies which can take another year. Other agencies include Sydney Water, Energy Authorities and State Rail. In Queensland the government realised the delegation of decisions to multiple agencies was delaying projects so they established the State Assessment and Referral Agency as a one stop shop with tight KPIs in terms of time. The result has been to dramatically speed up the referral process for large housing projects. NSW should establish a similar one stop shop for referral even if it is only over the next 2 years as a trial. 5 REMOVE EXCESSIVE COST ADDING STANDARDS TO SEPP 65 IN CBD AREAS SARA fast track assessment framework Craig Yelland's assessment of extra costs to Victorian apartments 6 ESTABLISH A ONE-STOP SHOP TO SPEED UP REFERRALS TO GOVERNMENT AGENCIES ON HOUSING PROJECTS www.dilgp.qld.gov.au