12/20/2023 0 Comments Let it ripThe battle lines have been drawn over this fateful final piece of Barangaroo. While people may not understand the technicalities of planning proposals, amendments and “state significant” developments, they do sense the cards are stacked against the public interest. They are suspicious of corruption, and detest “deals for mates”. The public have lost trust in politicians to represent citizens’ best interests. The latest controversy comes amid scandals engulfing the state government, following a federal election won and lost on issues of public integrity and evidence-based policy-making, from climate to pandemic management. Market-led infrastructure may sound good but not if it short-changes the public It warned these “pose a greater risk to value for money than procurements done through open, competitive and transparent processes”. In 2016 the NSW Audit Office urged greater transparency and public reporting of unsolicited proposals. Instead, real estate interests want more exclusive and higher-density residential high-rise development on land that could be used differently, were social, cultural and environmental considerations given priority. The latest Barangaroo plans won’t deliver this. The Committee for Sydney is advocating reinvigoration based on diversity and inclusivity. Sydney CBD occupancy rates have flatlined. Will the government heed Sydneysiders’ concerns? Merit and the public good have made way for developer business cases.Īnyone standing in the way of development approval is charged with self-serving NIMBYism, no matter how valid their concerns. The planning system is increasingly fragmented and disjointed. A “let it rip” mentality pervades the development sector and sections of the government too.Īny long-term plan, land parcel, public infrastructure or zoning process is seemingly up for grabs, liable to be sold off, changed or up-scaled. What is lost is accountability for how a project fulfils the broader goals of strategic city planning. To undermine the planning process that guides how this land should be used for maximum public benefit. The objective of this incremental approach is twofold: Rather than work to a broad strategic plan for a city or a whole precinct, it reduces public debate to a discrete discussion about a specific planning or development process, or a new section of the site. The rise of planning-as-deal-making involves a geographical sleight of hand. West Gate Tunnel saga shows risk of 'lock-in' on mega-projects pitched by business In Victoria, the West Gate Tunnel project in Melbourne is another controversial case of unsolicited urbanism. We have seen small development loopholes open up over building heights and floorspace ratios, and the much more significant rise of the unsolicited proposal process at Barangaroo. Table: The Conversation, adapted from Rogers & Gibson (2020), CC BY The reason was to protect views and the historic landscape. The expanded development and new tower would be in an area always envisaged as low-rise. It involves notable development impact on the harbour landscape as seen from the harbour itself and from one of Sydney’s most significant public open spaces, Observatory Hill. Setting aside Philip Thalis’ judgment that it is a “kitsch, historicist fantasy”, where does this leave the current proposal (modification 9) for Central Barangaroo? Reconstructing it was much more important, Keating suggested, than protecting the form and some of the residual industrial heritage of the container port. Often rehearsed in public by former prime minister Paul Keating, the argument was that the headland was a vital aspect of the city’s most important heritage, the harbour landscape. The second argument was standard guff reliant on “ starchitects” and the rhetoric of global landmarks. Its southern portion should be home to “world-class architecture” and “icons”. It should restore the harbour headland at the northern end of the site to something like its original form and character Since then the public justification for the project has relied on two main arguments: It was effectively discarded in 2009-2010 – revised out of existence. The story begins with the Hill Thalis-led competition-winning entry for the Barangaroo masterplan. Crown Sydney casino opens – another beacon for criminals looking to launder dirty money
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