Western Sydney Priority Growth Area Positive

The Urban Development Institute of Australia NSW today welcomed the State Government's announcement that a Western Sydney Priority Growth Area will be created around the future Badgery's Creek Airport Precinct.

UDIA NSW Chief Executive Stephen Albin congratulated the Government for making the 'common sense planning decision'.

"This Western Sydney Priority Growth Area will become the State's engine room for growth, with the capacity to deliver a dramatic boost in employment close to where a significant portion of the greater Sydney population lives," he said.

"This announcement will also lead to the delivery of more homes in Western Sydney, and what looks to be supportive infrastructure through the slated Land Use and Infrastructure Strategy."Mr Albin said the Land Use and Infrastructure Strategy must be drafted with careful consideration for the strategic placement of road and rail infrastructure.

"Traditionally in Sydney there has been a strong focus on roads and rail networks going east to west," he said. "With heightened growth activity north and south of this Western Sydney Priority Growth Area site, any infrastructure planning needs to take the importance of those linkages into consideration.""Tokyo is a good example of a city that manages major hubs such as this Western Sydney Priority Growth Area really well - there they have not just one CBD, but many with roads and rail connections going in a variety of directions."Mr Albin said the UDIA NSW also calls on the State and Federal Governments to co-ordinate the delivery of the South West Rail Link through the airport to Penrith, which should link with the Sydney Metro line and the M9.

Aside from those considerations, Mr Albin said 'all levels of government need to get on with the job of releasing the airport masterplan and then delivering the facility'.

The vast majority of landholders around the airport site are UDIA NSW members, and the Institute has an active Western Sydney Airport Taskforce, which will be carefully monitoring the next phase of the Western Sydney Priority Growth Area.