4.0 Greater Sydney Key points 4.1 Introduction Greater Sydney is where most Sydneysiders (over three Greater Sydney’s Business Parks such as Norwest, Greater Sydney (as described in this section) is all of the million people) live. This suburban region stretches provide highly skilled job opportunities in Greater Sydney Metropolitan Area other than the inner urban across Western and Southern Sydney in an arc to the Sydney. Health, education and other essential public areas of Global Sydney. Northern beaches and Central Coast. It is bounded services are also major employers. in the West and split in the North by the Hawkesbury It comprises the diverse suburban communities that ring Nepean Valley which represents a significant natural The attractiveness of the region means a further Global Sydney from Campbelltown in the South to the flooding risk. 1.1 million people expect to call Greater Sydney home Northern suburbs, Gosford and the Central Coast in the over the next 20 years. North and Penrith in the West. Greater Sydney is home to a diversity of industries that are essential to NSW’s success. It is the NSW Most of these new residents will be housed in existing It also encompasses the economic, administrative and manufacturing heartland which, despite pressures, urban areas. These new Sydneysiders, just like today’s social hubs of Parramatta, Liverpool, Campbelltown, remains one of the most significant sectors in the residents, will work at jobs across the metropolitan Penrith, Blacktown, Sutherland and Hornsby. NSW economy. region. While public transport will be important for some, cars will remain, for most people, the only The Greater Sydney sub-regions (see Figure 4.1) covered The logistics sector is increasingly important to the practical option for their daily travel needs. in this section are: West and South-West, supported by Greater Sydney’s • South (Kogarah, Hurstville, Canterbury, freight transport networks. Infrastructure NSW has identified five infrastructure priorities to support this rapidly growing region: Rockdale, Sutherland) The success of Greater Sydney and Global Sydney are • North (Hornsby, Ku-ring-gai, Pittwater, Warringah) intertwined, with many of Global Sydney’s employees • local infrastructure for new houses commuting in each day from Greater Sydney. • good roads for commuter, community and • West Central (Auburn, Blacktown, Hills Shire, Holroyd, Parramatta) The service sector in Greater Sydney is growing freight traffic in importance. Parramatta has been significant to • better public transport into key employment centres • North West (Baulkham Hills, Blacktown, NSW’s fortunes since the earliest days of European Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury, Penrith) • new schools and hospitals in growing suburbs settlement. Today it continues to grow as a key • South West (Bankstown, Fairfield, Wollondilly, administrative and commercial centre, with more than • flood protection for the Hawkesbury Nepean Valley. Camden, Campbelltown, Liverpool) 20 percent of Australia’s Top 500 companies now present in the Parramatta CBD1. • Central Coast (Gosford and Wyong). Greater Sydney accounts for some 46 percent of NSW’s population and is home to nearly 3.3 million people. 1 Parramatta City Council, http://www.mynewworkcity.com.au Infrastructure NSW | State Infrastructure Strategy The context Section 4 Greater Sydney Page 53 employment centres and business parks were Figure 4.1 Regions of Greater Sydney 4.2 Greater Sydney today semi-rural. In the past 20 years since 1991, over 70 percent of Sydney’s population growth (over 600,000 Greater Sydney is a complex and diverse amalgamation people) has been accommodated in Greater Sydney. of communities spread over a vast urban footprint. The Sydney metropolitan area is one of the largest cities The economic and demographic projections for Greater 1 in the world in terms of area. Spread across 4,000 square Sydney for the next 20 years have forecast that the kilometres, it is equal in size to London and almost double 3 growth story of Greater Sydney is set to continue: that of New York City3. 2 • The population is expected to grow by 1.3 percent The metropolitan area mixes suburbs that date back more 6 per annum (an additional 1.1 million people) to more than 200 years, such as Parramatta and the Macquarie than 4.4 million people. This is the fastest rate of Towns, with other areas like the North West where the growth of any region of NSW. This means that by 4 population has grown rapidly within the past 20 years. 5 2031 Greater Sydney will account for nearly half NSW’s population The population density of Greater Sydney’s suburbs varies but is generally lower in density than in Global • GSP is expected to grow at 3.0 percent per annum, Sydney as Figure 4.2 shows. These suburbs have Greater Sydney the same rate as Global Sydney. This means that by the attraction of land prices much lower than in 2031 Greater Sydney will contribute 35 percent of 1 Central Coast 3 North West 5 South West Global Sydney, making it a more affordable option for NSW’s economic output, about $250 billion2 many families. 2 North 4 South 6 West Central • Employment is forecast to grow by 1.0 percent per The economy of Greater Sydney is similarly diverse. annum, (or around 300,000 jobs) to 1.6 million jobs. While the economy of Global Sydney is dominated Source: Department of Planning and Infrastructure. What these figures show is that while Global Sydney is by financial services and knowledge-based sectors, 4 the engine room of the NSW economy, Greater Sydney Greater Sydney has a broader industrial base . It includes some of the fastest growing urban areas is where most Sydneysiders live and work. in Australia as well as and more established suburbs. • Most of Sydney’s manufacturing output is produced Greater Sydney accounts for around 36 percent of in Greater Sydney, particularly in West Central and NSW employment (56 percent of Sydney employment), South Western Sydney. or 1.3 million jobs in 2011, and 34 percent of NSW’s • Sydney’s logistics industry has increasingly located economic output (45 percent of Sydney’s output), worth away from the relatively expensive lands around Port about $140 billion in 2011. Botany and towards major transportation corridors To illustrate the significance of this growth, it is such as the M7 motorway in Greater Sydney. worth considering that within the lifetimes of many 3 City of Sydney, City of Sydney – A Snapshot. Sydneysiders, much of Greater Sydney’s regional 4 Department Planning and Infrastructure 2012, Sydney Over the Next Twenty 2 Deloitte Access Economics 2012, Infrastructure and the NSW Economy. Years: A Discussion Paper. Infrastructure NSW | State Infrastructure Strategy The context Section 4 Greater Sydney Page 54 • The construction industry is a major employer across The residential and employment patterns of the Greater Sydney. metropolitan area have implications for infrastructure investment in Greater Sydney, particularly for • As most Sydneysiders live in Greater Sydney, a major transport infrastructure. The concentration of jobs focus is in sectors serving local population needs in Global Sydney means many Greater Sydney such as in healthcare, education and retail. residents commute into the region each day, often by This industrial mix means Greater Sydney’s employment public transport. patterns are much more dispersed than in Global The majority of Greater Sydney residents work within Sydney, where most activity is focused on a small the region however and rely on their cars to get to work. number of high-density centres that are clustered closely Congestion is a daily issue therefore for many lives together, with the CBD paramount. across Greater Sydney. These issues are discussed in Sectors such as manufacturing, logistics and section 4.4.3. construction do not benefit from close proximity (the The infrastructure issues facing Greater Sydney are not ‘economies of agglomeration’ noted in section 3) in uniform, there are major differences between its different the way that many service sectors do. Preference is sub-regions. Through the capability assessment process given instead to less dense areas which generally bring described in section 2, Infrastructure NSW has looked lower land, labour and transportation costs. at the economic and demographic composition of each While Greater Sydney contains important regional sub-region and its current infrastructure deficiencies, centres such as Parramatta, Liverpool and Penrith, these shown in Table 4.1. account for a much smaller proportion of employment in the region, and these centres are also relatively distant from each other. Most employment is spread across the region. This is shown in Figure 4.3. Infrastructure NSW | State Infrastructure Strategy The context Section 4 Greater Sydney Page 55 Table 4.1 Infrastructure Deficiencies by Sub-Region in Greater Sydney Greater Sydney Sub-Region Population 2011 Major Industries Infrastructure Deficiencies South 650,000 Finance and Services, Logistics Road congestion, i.e. Princes Highway, adding to freight costs and commute times North 500,000 Business Services, Technology, Inadequate connectivity to F3 Education Freeway access to Global Sydney from Northern Beaches and school capacity West Central 680,000 Secondary CBD – Finance and Access to Parramatta and Global Insurance Services, Health, Sydney, inadequate road links, Education (UWS), Manufacturing school capacity North West 760,000 Health, Education (UWS), Flooding risks, road congestion, i.e. Construction M4 Motorway access to Parramatta and Global Sydney South West 410,000 Logistics, Manufacturing, Road congestion, i.e. M5 Motorway, Construction adding to freight costs and commute times, school capacity Central Coast 300,000 Technology, Health, Manufacturing Access to Global Sydney, inadequate road connectivity Infrastructure NSW | State Infrastructure Strategy The context Section 4 Greater Sydney Page 56 Where and how people will live and work are the greatest Figure 4.2 Residential Density Sydney 2011 4.3 Greater Sydney in 2031 drivers of infrastructure demand.