Central Sydney Planning Strategy Update

The Strategy’s aims and opportunities:

• A new strong focus on non-residential development to support employment growth is to be played out with the introduction of a 50 per cent cap on residential development in tower buildings (ie buildings over 55 metres in height).
• Graham emphasised Sydney’s commitment to employment growth and reinforced the key aim of the strategy was to position and strengthen Sydney as Australia’s global city. The shift to residential development over the past two decades has been at the expense of vital commercial floor space.
• The Strategy has a multi-dimensional focus and ensuring ‘Liveability’ is the foremost objective, in tandem with setting up Sydney to transform to a more service-based economy, anchored in export earnings and global competitiveness.
• Sectors where the city can foster the conversion of professional services to export earners include health, education and tourism.

Taller buildings:

• One of the biggest upheavals to city planning will be the allowance for taller buildings and flexibility in floor space ratios on ‘strategic opportunity’ or ‘tower cluster sites’.
• Very tall towers which may be built on select sites that do not overshadow public spaces or impact on important views and heritage areas, will be commercial only floor space.
• There will be opportunities for very tall towers, up to 310 metres in height, for non-residential uses and floor space ratios will be determined by individual, site specific, built form outcomes. These opportunities will not be enshrined in the base planning provisions, but instead would need to be the subject of site specific amendments to the Local Environmental Plan. Key guidelines for this process are yet to be released.
• There are three areas earmarked as being suitable for these towers over the next 20 or more years, however significant site, design and sustainability attributes will be required to be satisfied to ensure a high standard of amenity.
• Tapered tower profiles are indicated as preferable and therefore a challenge to industry will be the suitability of floor plates for commercial development.