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The state’s three-person panel with special powers to accelerate housing supply has sent more than 100 major proposals on a fast track to approval in its first six months, more than doubling
initial projections and smoothing the path for 45,000 new homes in Sydney’s critical growth corridors. The Hills, western Sydney and the city’s south-west outskirts are among the areas
touted for large-scale residential developments, after the NSW government’s Housing Delivery Authority (HDA) recommended dozens of projects bypass local councils since its first meeting in
February. The authority, made up of three senior state government bureaucrats, was intended to accelerate aspects of the sluggish planning system. However, selected proposals face a litany
of long-standing development hurdles that could delay the start of construction, or jeopardise the projects entirely. WHERE ARE THE NEW DEVELOPMENTS? The proposals largely follow existing
and planned metro corridors, which will comprise four lines spanning 46 stations after its expected 2032 completion. Among these is a plan for 1600 new dwellings in Norwest in the Hills
District, as part of an application for a new function centre and commercial premises adjacent to the metro station. Another 1300 dwellings have been recommended for the sped-up approval
process on land 200 metres from Tallawong metro station, the final stop on the north-west line. Expansive proposals have also been advanced for North Sydney, St Leonards and Macquarie Park,
all of which are expected to have significant population growth as new transport and infrastructure hubs take hold in the next decade. The largest application the authority has progressed
has been in Rhodes, where more than 2000 new homes are proposed for two lots of land straddling Concord Road and the Parramatta River. An estimated 1400 new homes could also be constructed
adjacent to Concord West station. More than 3000 dwellings have been recommended on two separate mixed-use developments adjacent to Leppington Station in the south-west. Smaller proposals
have been advanced for Bringelly Road, while a 400-dwelling proposal in Austral has also been endorsed by the troika. Parramatta Road, New South Head Road and the Pacific Highway are among
the road corridors where applications have been fast-tracked. This includes thousands of homes in Crows Nest and Chatswood, and in Homebush, Canada Bay and Edgecliff. The panel comprises
Premier’s Department secretary Simon Draper, Planning Department secretary Kiersten Fishburn and Infrastructure NSW chief executive Tom Gellibrand. It meets fortnightly to assess proposals
for large residential and mixed-use projects, before recommending to Planning Minister Paul Scully which plans should have access to a “state significant” approval process. WILL IT MOVE THE
DIAL? Proposals earmarked by the authority enjoy an expedited application process, though inefficiencies from other parts of the development system, such as construction delays and lethargic
government processing speeds, still threaten new supply coming online. Scully acknowledged that there was “more reform required” to stop the projects recommended by the authority from being
hampered by the rest of the planning system. “We continue to do the work, so we have a planning system that is modernised and fit for purpose,” Scully said. “This could include legislative
and non-legislative reform. I hope that the opposition sticks to its word to provide bipartisan support.” _START THE DAY WITH A SUMMARY OF THE DAY’S MOST IMPORTANT AND INTERESTING STORIES,
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