This has been a year of sustained endeavour for Landcom, in which we have geared up to significantly increase production in the coming years. Our strong investment in greenfield projects has continued to provide stability for our project partners and others, as the industry finds its way through a prolonged period of economic and market uncertainty. We have continued to leverage our sustainability efforts and to advance sustainability innovation. And we have focused our efforts to step up production of land and deliver on our new mandate to produce 10,000 home sites over the next four years in western Sydney.
In his review, the Chairman described some of the distinguished projects that have earned Landcom its standing as a developer of excellence and integrity, including Victoria Park at Zetland, Prince Henry at Little Bay, Park Central at Campbelltown and The New Rouse Hill. This year we have continued to build this reputation, reaching a number of significant milestones on our current projects.
At Oran Park, a whole new town is taking shape, from the inside out. A fundamental principle of this project is that key facilities and services should be in place early, because this infrastructure will provide much of the foundation for the growth of a strong community. Along with our committed development partner, Greenfields Development Company, we are working with the University of Western Sydney and a host of community service agencies to plan Oran Park as a hub of technology, health and education innovation. Following our sale of the first school site to Sydney Anglican Schools this year, construction is well underway, and the school will open the doors to its first primary school students in 2012. We also negotiated the sale of the Kindergarten to Year 12 school site this year to The Department of Education and Communities. This will eventually be one of the largest schools in the state, and primary classes are expected to commence in 2014. Construction of the retirement village also commenced and the first families began to move into their new homes in early 2011.
While Oran Park Town takes shape, we also reached a very important milestone for the development of a town of a different nature – Green Square. This year Landcom secured the Gateway Determination by the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure for the development of Green Square Town Centre. This is a critical step in the planning process which clears the way for this landmark urban regeneration development in Sydney’s inner south.
We also finalised the purchase of surplus Defence land at North Penrith from the Commonwealth Government. Landcom’s transit-oriented development of this site will help to support and shape the evolution of Penrith city as it adapts to provide more housing choice, jobs and better access to services and facilities for current and future residents.
Other significant beginnings this year include our release of land at Talana, our first residential neighbourhood in the Edmondson Park release area. Landcom has been working for several years to facilitate the precinct and infrastructure planning for the entire area, and with Talana we aim to provide a model and catalyst for the development of neighbouring areas.
While Landcom is breaking ground with these new projects, our role in others is wrapping up – at Greenway Views in the southwest and Newbury in the northwest. These long-term projects were among the first in which Landcom partnered with the private sector and took an active role in the delivery of built form. The planning of these projects was focused very much on the principles of new urbanism – to create walkable, connected and diverse neighbourhoods with quality architecture and urban design. We have learnt a great deal about the art of place-making from these projects, which we carry forward into our current work.
We continue to pride ourselves on – and aim continuously to improve – our sustainability leadership, the trusting and productive relationships we have with our partners and stakeholders, and our resolve and skill in unlocking complex land development problems. This year’s sustainability conference – DiverseCity – was enormously successful in advancing the industry’s collective dialogue on the sustainability issues we currently face, and those on the horizon. The conference also gave us the opportunity to launch our new planning and design guides on housing density, diversity and built form, bringing the total number of published guides in our collection to 10. We were very pleased to host 340 of our colleagues and stakeholders at the conference, and their feedback was overwhelmingly positive.
DiverseCity followed our last conference at which we launched PRECINX®, Landcom’s sustainability modelling tool. This year we have enhanced the functionality of the tool with generous sponsorship from the former Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water. I am pleased to report that we have been working closely with our government land organisation colleagues in other states and made the tool available to them. We are proud that our work may provide the platform for development of a national approach to sustainability modelling.
We are of course also very proud to have had a pivotal role in shaping the international sustainability reporting framework for our industry through the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Landcom was one of two Australasian representatives on a panel of international industry experts charged with developing a global reporting framework tailored to the construction and real estate industry. The Construction and Real Estate Sector Supplement (CRESS) will be released by GRI towards the end of 2011.
On the relationships front, we have formalised several new partnerships this year. These include agreements with Defence Housing Australia, Mission Australia Housing and St George Community Housing, to work together on a number of potential projects and explore future joint opportunities. We also built on our now well-established relationship with Ageing, Disability and Home Care, continuing to deliver group homes that help their clients to live independent and productive lives.
As well as fostering relationships to help deliver better development projects, this year we also began a research partnership with the University of New South Wales, NSW Health and the National Heart Foundation, to study the relationship between urban planning and the health of communities over time. We have made a decision to take a very focused approach to new research and development, and the planning-health study is one of the first strategic studies in our research program.
As always, this year we have continued to engage in complex projects that require our particular skills to manage or unlock. This year Landcom continued to provide development, project and construction management services to HNSW for the commonwealth’s Nation Building Program. Our involvement in this program, which had a combined value of $350 million, has delivered affordable housing for 1,100 families and helped to sustain the New South Wales development industry after the unprecedented economic and market uncertainty caused by the global financial crisis.
Another example of our problem-solving efforts is the 21st Century Terrace project, which we commenced this year in response to Sydney’s changing housing needs. These changes are being driven by factors such as smaller family sizes, increases in the cost of living and affordability issues. But the industry has been slow to respond to the need for different types of new housing. Landcom is aiming to facilitate a shift in the industry’s approach by developing a terrace house model that can be ‘mainstreamed’ for delivery by the project home industry. The first demonstration of this model is planned at our North Penrith project, and construction is expected to start in mid-2012.
Our new mandate to deliver 10,000 home sites in western Sydney over the next four years is a considerable task and will require a sustained application of our problem-solving capability. Our already strong relationships with local government and other government agencies have enabled us to hit the ground running on this charge.
In his review, the Chairman announced his decision to retire from the Chairmanship at the end of this year, after 14 eminent years in the role. I thank him sincerely for his outstanding guidance of Landcom over these years, in which we have grown into a distinguished organisation. I personally have appreciated his wise counsel and I know that my fellow Directors and our staff share my gratitude for his fine leadership.
I also give my deepest thanks to the Landcom management team and our dedicated staff for their diligence and sustained commitment to our endeavours.
Sean O'Toole
Managing Directior