Committee on Transport and Infrastructure
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LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF NEW SOUTH WALES Committee on Transport and Infrastructure REPORT 1/55 – NOVEMBER 2012 UTILISATION OF RAIL CORRIDORS New South Wales Parliamentary Library cataloguing-in-publication data: New South Wales. Parliament. Legislative Assembly. Committee on Transport and Infrastructure. Utilisation of rail corridors / Legislative Assembly, Committee on Transport and Infrastructure [Sydney, N.S.W.] : the Committee, 2012. [114] p. ; 30 cm. (Report no. 1/55 Committee on Transport and Infrastructure) “November 2012”. Chair: Charles Casuscelli, RFD MP. ISBN 9781921686573 1. Railroads—New South Wales—Planning. 2. Railroads—Joint use of facilities—New South Wales. I. Casuscelli, Charles. II. Title. III. Series: New South Wales. Parliament. Legislative Assembly. Committee on Transport and Infrastructure. Report ; no. 1/55 (385.312 DDC22) The motto of the coat of arms for the state of New South Wales is “Orta recens quam pura nites”. It is written in Latin and means “newly risen, how brightly you shine”. UTILISATION OF RAIL CORRIDORS Contents Membership ____________________________________________________________ iii Terms of Reference ________________________________________________________iv Chair’s Foreword __________________________________________________________ v Executive Summary ________________________________________________________vi List of Findings and Recommendations ________________________________________ ix CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 1 CONDUCT OF THE INQUIRY _______________________________________________ 1 CHAPTER TWO – NSW PLANNING FRAMEWORK .......................................................................3 LEGISLATIVE AND POLICY FRAMEWORK _____________________________________ 3 PROPOSALS FOR REFORM ________________________________________________ 7 KEY GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND PLANS ____________________________________ 9 CURRENT APPROVAL PROCESS FOR RAIL CORRIDOR DEVELOPMENT ________________15 NSW GOVERNMENT AGENCY ROLES _______________________________________ 16 CHAPTER THREE – BENEFITS OF UTILISING RAIL CORRIDORS .......................................... 21 ECONOMIC __________________________________________________________ 21 SOCIAL _____________________________________________________________ 28 ENVIRONMENTAL _____________________________________________________ 35 BEST PRACTICE IN OTHER JURISDICTIONS __________________________________ 37 COMMITTEE COMMENT _________________________________________________ 38 CHAPTER FOUR – BARRIERS FOR RAIL CORRIDOR PROJECTS ........................................... 39 CONSULTATION WITH RAILCORP __________________________________________ 39 COSTLY AND COMPLEX CONSTRUCTION ____________________________________ 42 LAND OWNERSHIP AND ZONING __________________________________________ 46 APPROVAL PROCESS ___________________________________________________ 48 STRATEGIC APPROACH TO DEVELOPMENT __________________________________ 50 STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF TRANSPORT NEEDS ________________________________ 53 COMMUNITY SUPPORT _________________________________________________ 55 CONCLUSION _________________________________________________________ 57 CHAPTER FIVE – FACILITATING UTILISATION OF THE RAIL CORRIDOR ......................... 59 WHOLE OF GOVERNMENT APPROACH ______________________________________ 59 CO-ORDINATING AUTHORITY ____________________________________________ 61 PLANNING FRAMEWORK AND APPROVAL PROCESSES __________________________ 68 TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT SCHEMES _______________________________ 76 FUNDING FOR FUTURE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS __________________________ 89 APPENDIX ONE – LIST OF SUBMISSIONS ................................................................................. 98 APPENDIX TWO – LIST OF WITNESSES ................................................................................... 100 NOVEMBER 2012 i COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE APPENDIX THREE – VISIT OF INSPECTION ............................................................................102 APPENDIX FOUR – EXTRACTS FROM MINUTES ..................................................................... 103 ii REPORT 1/55 UTILISATION OF RAIL CORRIDORS Membership CHAIR Mr Charles Casuscelli RFD MP, Member for Strathfield DEPUTY CHAIR Mr Tim Owen MP, Member for Newcastle MEMBERS Ms Tania Mihailuk MP, Member for Bankstown Mr Greg Piper MP, Member for Lake Macquarie Mr Paul Toole MP, Member for Bathurst CONTACT DETAILS Committee on Transport and Infrastructure Parliament House Macquarie Street Sydney NSW 2000 TELEPHONE 02 9230 2031 FACSIMILE 02 9230 3052 E-MAIL [email protected] URL www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/transportandinfrastructure NOVEMBER 2012 iii COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE Terms of Reference That the Legislative Assembly Committee on Transport and Infrastructure inquire into and report on the utilisation of air space above, and the land adjacent to, the rail corridor in the Greater Metropolitan Area of Sydney, including the Hunter and the Illawarra. Matters may include, but are not limited to, how rail corridors might contribute to: • providing opportunities for mixed use property development • generating income for funding future infrastructure projects; • facilitating sustainable urban renewal and development; • facilitation of transit oriented development schemes around railway stations; • connectivity of communities either side of railway lines. Other areas of inquiry will include: • the current planning and policy framework; • regulatory and policy barriers to implementing rail corridor projects; • issues relating to the financing and funding of such projects; • methods of assessing the compatibility of projects with the local community; • examples of best practice from other jurisdictions. iv REPORT 1/55 UTILISATION OF RAIL CORRIDORS Chair’s Foreword There is growing demand in our major New South Wales cities for housing which is close to shops, schools, public transport and workplaces. One way to meet that demand is transit oriented development (TOD) and our rail corridors offer ideal locations. Well-designed, mixed use, development over or adjacent to the rail corridor, at or within walking distance of a railway station, has the capacity to increase public transport usage, provide accessible locations for businesses and community facilities and create vibrant, friendly neighbourhoods. Current NSW Government initiatives and reforms—the Long Term Transport Master Plan, the Planning System Green Paper, Infrastructure NSW's 20 Year State Infrastructure Strategy— provide an ideal opportunity to plan for transit oriented developments at strategic locations across the Greater Sydney Metropolitan Area. The recommendations which the Committee on Transport and Infrastructure has made in this report will facilitate the identification and marketing of TOD opportunities, remove current planning and approval barriers, and effect practical governance arrangements. The Committee is supporting the establishment of a specialised unit within UrbanGrowth NSW to champion transit oriented development above and along the rail corridor: guiding, promoting and coordinating the process. The Committee envisages that the unit will work closely with local and state government, local landowners, the community and the development industry. While acknowledging the complexities of building over or along the rail corridor the Committee also notes that engineering challenges have substantially diminished over time. The lack of TOD relative to the number of potential TOD opportunities suggests that the substantive issues are about risk, delays in planning and approvals and a lack of flexibility by Government agencies. The Committee considers that transit oriented mixed use development should be an essential component in both urban growth and urban renewal because of the social, economic and environmental benefits it provides. Medium to high density housing with easy access to frequent public transport services can reduce car dependency and encourage active forms of transport such as walking and cycling, resulting in less congestion on our roads, less pollution and better health outcomes. Mixed use development provides locations for shops, businesses and recreational pursuits, further reducing the need for private transport, as well as growing local economies. We have an opportunity to create liveable, walkable neighbourhoods which meet the needs of 21st century city dwellers. In addition, the Committee believes that transit oriented development of appropriate sites along and above the rail corridor has the potential to generate income for funding infrastructure projects and to maximise the return from lazy government assets. I wish to thank all who participated in the inquiry, members of the Committee for their contributions and Committee staff for their support. Charles Casuscelli RFD MP Chair NOVEMBER 2012 v COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE Executive Summary Key issues The key issues examined by the Committee are the benefits and challenges associated with utilising land adjacent to and air space above the rail corridor, and possible reforms to overcome these challenges. Inquiry participants discussed the potential social, economic and environmental benefits of transit oriented developments. This type of development, which has been successfully undertaken in countries around the world, would capitalise on available land in close proximity