Sub-Regional Strategy Fails City's Future

The Draft Subregional Strategy is a tool to implement the State Government's Metropolitan Strategy. The State Government has arranged the Sydney metropolitan area into ten subregions, with the City constituting its own region along with the State Government's Redfern Waterloo and Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authorities.

The Subregional Strategy is intended to provide a framework for the long-term development of the City and Sydney Harbour, guiding government investment and linking local and state planning issues.
While the City can endorse many of its principles, it misses the mark on global warming, changing housing needs, and required investment in the City's overstretched transport systems.

The Draft Strategy also fails to recognise the important work we have done to develop our new City Plan, and overlooks cooperative discussions with many State agencies on major new initiatives:

• Our project with the Department of Housing that will be a model for how Councils can work with the State Government to provide cheaper to market, social and affordable housing.
• Our plans for new transport systems, being developed in consultation with the Ministry of Transport, the Roads and Traffic Authority and the State Transit Authority to improve pedestrian mobility and access, increase cycling infrastructure and plan for light rail, show that the City is planning 21st century infrastructure.
• Our work on Green Transformers with the Departments of Climate Change and the Environment and Energy and Water, to reduce the barriers that currently prevent the City and business from providing low-carbon energy options, black-water harvesting or sewer mining.
• Our provision of regional cycling infrastructure, in consultation with other Councils, which will extend green open space linkages to resident's homes and provide healthy, safe and sustainable transport alternatives.

The State Government has done little in the way of community consultation on the Draft Strategy, instead taking a top-down approach, telling the community what is best for their neighbourhoods.

On Monday, Council will endorse a submission to the State Government on the Subregional Strategy, seeking further action on issues that you told us were important during our extensive consultations, including over 280 public meetings, workshops and community consultations over the past four years.

For Sustainable Sydney 2030 alone, which forms our framework for securing Sydney's future, over 3500 people joined in our 89 forums and we reached tens of thousands more through our public exhibition, website and displays at City events.

Information: www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/Council/MeetingsAndCommittees/2008/Committees/250808/planning.asp