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This year we have integrated our sustainability and financial reports into one comprehensive report. Set out below are a number of Landcom’s corporate, project and sustainability highlights for the year, as well as a summary of the challenges we are facing in our business.
CORPORATE RESULTS
Delivery > We delivered a total of 1,179 homesites, detached dwellings and home units to the market across all our projects during the year.
EBIT > Our earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) were $72.6 million.
Returns to Government > We returned $61.7 million to the NSW Government in the form of a dividend and tax-equivalent payments.
Job Creation > An estimated 6,050 jobs and over $474.2 million in economic output were generated, directly or indirectly, as a result of our development activities in 2005/2006.
Better Partnerships > We simplified our Tender and Expression of Interest documentation in order to make it easier for the private sector to do business with us.
AWARDS
HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION
2005 GREENSMART AWARDS
Category: Design Concept
Winner: Greenway Views
Category: Water Efficient Housing
Winner: Prince Henry at Little Bay
HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION
2005 HOUSING AWARDS
Category: Special Purpose Housing
Winner: Jarrah House, Prince Henry at Little Bay
URBAN DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA
2005 NSW AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE
Category: Concept Design
Winner: Edmondson Park Rezoning & Masterplan
Category: Marketing
Winner: Prince Henry at Little Bay
PLANNING INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA AWARDS
Category: Environmental Planning & Conservation
Commendation: Prince Henry at Little Bay
SUSTAINABILITY RESULTS
Corporate Initiatives
- We hosted another Sustainability Forum during the year, the subject of which was “Corporate Responsibility”.
- We developed internal Due Diligence Guidelines for social sustainability, along with a Community Facilities Resource Book.
- We also hosted an “Eco Living Fair” at our Park Central estate in Campbelltown, to showcase contemporary innovations in sustainability for local residents.
- We launched our Street Design Guidelines and the highly popular “My Neighbourhood” education initiative.
Water Quality
- We achieved good results in water quality management this year, continuing the steady gains realised in previous years. Water quality gains this year included a 35% reduction in nitrogen and a 59% decrease in suspended solids released from our developments into the natural environment.
- We also achieved our mean annual phosphorus load reduction target two years earlier than projected, with a 45% reduction in phosphorus loads. These results were delivered through our Water Sensitive Urban Design Strategy.
Greenhouse Gas Savings
- The total greenhouse gas savings from homes constructed during the year is estimated to be 122 tonnes per year compared to average houses in NSW.
- Landcom homes approved under the BASIX 25 requirements averaged 36 BASIX points for energy conservation.
For full details of our sustainability performance during the year, please refer to our Performance Results.
PROJECT RESULTS
Prince Henry at Little Bay
- Jarrah House at Prince Henry, a unique facility for drug dependent women and their children, was built by Landcom and opened by the NSW Premier on 4 July 2005.
- In March 2006, we executed agreements with St Lukes/Multiplex to deliver 114 self-care apartments and 119 bed assisted care facilities, with work on this part of the project expected to commence in mid 2006.
- In April, we completed work on the Yarra Bay Community Centre, a facility for the La Perouse Aboriginal community.
Rouse Hill Regional Centre
- In April 2006, the Minister for Planning launched the commencement of construction for the project and, by June, construction work was well underway.
- The Ironbark Ridge Primary School, located on site, was officially opened in November 2005.
North West Sydney Projects
- We ran an “Ideas Competition” for the Western Sydney Parklands during October 2005, generating a high level of positive community interest.
- Site works commenced at Second Ponds Creek early in 2006 and, during March, we successfully negotiated a formal Planning Agreement for this project with Council, as well as detailed development guidelines.
South West Sydney Projects
- We formally launched our Macarthur Gardens project in August 2005.
- The last remaining apartments at our Park Central development were sold during the year.
- We commenced land sales at our Greenway Views development in December 2005, with the Catholic School on the Estate opening in time for the 2006 school year.
- In January 2006, we secured development consent for our Middleton Grange Release Area and in March we were successful in negotiating the rezoning of the entire Edmondson Park Release Area.
For further details of our projects, please refer to the Our Projects.
CHALLENGES
\While Landcom takes pride in its achievements, we acknowledge that there is always room for improvement.
This year, we have faced challenges in meeting our moderate income housing and renewable energy targets. We also recognise the continuing difficulties in delivering effective biodiversity management and social sustainability across our projects.
- We faced challenges in meeting our moderate income housing target during the year, delivering 6.4% of our housing product at a price considered affordable to moderate income households. This was down from last year’s result of 12% and lower than our target of 7.5% by 2008.
- While we are aiming to install solar hot water systems within all our built form projects by 2008, we only managed to install them in 32% of homes that were constructed during the year, down from last year’s result of 36%.
- We have flagged the environmental performance of our contract builders working on Landcom sites as a concern.
- We continue to work towards striking an appropriate balance between biodiversity conservation and the business of land development, which includes land clearing.
- While we have recognised the importance of putting the right building blocks in place to encourage communities to develop and prosper, we acknowledged the difficulties and limitations in approaching this issue and we continued to explore new ways of promoting socially sustainable communities.
For a detailed explanation of these issues and Landcom’s response, please refer to the Challenges section.