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THE “LANDCOM MODEL” |
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Sydney is a city that functions and interacts on a global level. It consistently rates as one of the world’s best cities, recognised for its natural beauty, domestic harmony and lifestyle. Its recent growth has been driven by its economic strength and by the quality of life it provides.
While the effective management of this growth is a core Government responsibility, a number of significant challenges are beginning to emerge as Sydney forges ahead. How can Sydney grow in a sustainable way, so that all residents have equal access to essential services, transport, jobs and affordable housing? And what is the best way to coordinate the timely provision of essential infrastructure?
If Sydney’s quality of life or its economic competitiveness is diminished by its own growth, then its ability to function as a global city and as Australia’s leading capital will be threatened.
The Government is responding to these challenges, launching a Metropolitan Strategy for Sydney in December 2005, to guide policy and to help shape private sector investment decisions.
The success of any metropolitan strategy rests in its implementation. A level of intervention will always be required, to ensure that the implementation of the critical or more commercially difficult components of Sydney’s growth takes place in a timely manner and in alignment with the Government’s objectives.
Landcom provides this intervention. We direct a portfolio of projects which is making a difference to the future development of Sydney on a metropolitan scale.
We complement the Department of Planning’s role, which is to set the planning framework for metropolitan growth, by delivering projects with strategic metropolitan outcomes such as the Green Square Town Centre, the Rouse Hill Regional Centre and major land releases within the new Growth Sectors.
We use these projects to ensure that the strategic elements of Sydney’s future growth are implemented.
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THE “LANDCOM MODEL”
Landcom has developed a business model that unlocks complex sites, creates opportunities for the private sector and enables us to leverage our investment.
We begin by selecting our projects on the basis that they deliver a significant overall contribution to the Government’s urban management agenda.
We often partner with the private sector to deliver these projects. This has a number of benefits. Among other things, it increases our capacity to deliver and to influence the quality of the development outcome.
We have also developed successful partnering arrangements across Government, encouraging higher levels of cooperation among Government landowners to unlock the hidden potential of their surplus sites.
We have capitalised on these arrangements to foster positive relationships across Government, the development industry and among the community, and this is fundamental to our success. We draw on our relationships to bring stakeholders together in resolving deadlocked or sensitive issues – using consensus and conciliation to address constraints and to broker solutions for our sites.
We use our projects to develop and market test innovative practices that promote emerging Government policy. We then apply these innovations in partnership with the development industry to lead and accelerate the introduction of innovation into mainstream practice.
And we do all this while maintaining a strong commercial focus which ensures we remain self funding. We continue to invest in new projects, initiatives and innovations in order to guarantee sustainable financial, social and environmental returns to Government over the long term.
MAKING THINGS HAPPEN
Landcom’s projects are focused within future Growth Sectors and along urban renewal corridors.
We are working on projects that support major business centres and maintain a satisfactory supply of land within developing areas before new Growth Sectors can be brought on line. Our projects within the recently announced South West and North West Growth Sectors provide Landcom with a unique opportunity to set the benchmark in terms of urban design, housing diversity and environmental sustainability for the massive private sector development that is to follow.
We are using our projects to promote “infrastructure led” development, where essential services that are either within our direct control or our sphere of influence – such as transport, open space, community, social, environmental and economic infrastructure – are delivered in an orderly way, in line with demand.
FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES
While Landcom’s primary focus is on the Sydney region, we are also active in outer metropolitan regions such as the Hunter and the Illawarra. With the Metro Strategy now in place, regional strategies are to follow, with a draft plan for the Hunter already announced and similar plans for the Central Coast and the Illawarra expected early in 2006/2007.
There is an emerging role for Landcom in assisting its Local Government partners to deliver sustainable development outcomes in accordance with these strategies, particularly around designated regional cities such as Parramatta, Liverpool, Penrith, Gosford, Newcastle and Wollongong. Landcom also expects to increase its focus on the delivery of higher density development within existing urban areas, assisting our State and Local Government partners to deliver their urban renewal targets in a sustainable way.
