Extra homes in Sydney's east as city looks to squeeze in 1.3m more people

NSW government reveals blueprint for more homes in the east, jobs in the west In short: The city's east is expected to see the majority of Sydney's housing growth over the next 20 years, according to a state government blueprint. It comes as the city looks to find homes and workplaces for an extra 1.3 million people by 2046. The government is forecasting a 59 per cent rise in job growth from 475,000 to 755,000 over the next two decades. The eastern suburbs will be home to most of Greater Sydney's new housing over the next 20 years, under a New South Wales government blueprint to rebalance the region's growth. Meanwhile, Western Sydney will drive economic growth, leveraging investment in the area's second airport, the Moorebank Intermodal Precinct and vast industrial lands. These are the broad strokes of the government's Sydney Plan, which charters how Greater Sydney will find homes and places of work for an extra 1.3 million people by 2046. Planning Minister Paul Scully described the 20-year vision as a rebalancing of Greater Sydney, with a focus on building upwards rather than outwards by developing green fields. "We're treating the city as one, even though we recognise there are differences across the expanse of it,"he said. "There'll still be housing in the west, there'll still be jobs growth in the east. "This is the continuation of the rebalancing of housing growth in Sydney, around where there's existing infrastructure capacity." The Sydney Plan was met with praise by the Committee for Sydney, an urban policy think tank. "The reality is for too long, we've not made it feasible to have kids and live in an apartment," chief executive Eamon Waterford said. "We've forced people out further when what they really are looking for is amenity and proximity that they can get with family friendly apartments. "So this change is a really welcome one." One effort to avoid a repeat of the current housing crisis is the requirement for councils to have land available and zoned to meet a 30-year housing target, allowing the supply of new builds to quickly be topped up, as these time intensive planning processes would have already been completed. "Over the next 20 years, Sydney will need at least 800,000 more homes, around 950,000 jobs," Mr Scully said. "And that's why we're introducing [this] requirement … so that we don't get into the housing situation that we're trying to get ourselves out of today." Local Government New South Wales said the long-term planning requirement was a "good idea". "We know that the housing supply crisis in Sydney is so deep that we're not going to be able to dig ourselves out of it in one year or even in five years," President Darcy Byrne, who is also the mayor of Inner West Council, said. "So a long-term plan for ensuring that there is adequate housing supply is probably something that Sydney should have had a long time ago. "In the inner west, that's exactly what we're seeking to do, to develop a pipeline of housing supply so that over time this problem can be addressed." Harmony between the city's east and west? Not only will eastern Sydney take on the majority of housing growth under the plan, but the variety of housing will be more diverse, including developments like townhouses and apartments. The justification provided in the report is that the existing investment and infrastructure in the areas can support more people. "When the Minns government first came to office, there was less housing diversity in Sydney than what there was a century ago," Mr Scully told the ABC. "That's led to some of the problems that we have today with our housing challenges and our housing prices. "We need to make sure that our housing mix is as diverse as our population mix." Eastern Sydney council areas have already been set high five-year housing targets under the National Housing Accord, accounting for just under half of all new builds. In comparison, Western Sydney council areas have a target of less than a quarter. Rather, the focus for the city's west is to leverage its industrial land and assets to "cement its role as a nationally significant economic powerhouse", the plan said. The area will drive the state's freight, logistics and industrial expansion over the next two decades, making use of Western Sydney International Airport, the Moorebank Intermodal Precinct and extensive industrial land. Half of Greater Sydney's industrial land will be in the city's west, with 80 per cent of undeveloped industrial land located there. These factors will be a driving force in job growth, with the government forecasting a 59 per cent rise from 475,000 to 755,000 over the next two decades. The suburbs that will grow to next level Sydney, Parramatta and Bradfield City will still be the main three CBDs across Greater Sydney. But surrounding them will be a network of dozens of "interconnected centres", hosting jobs, services and economic activity. These areas include Brookvale, Hornsby, Castle Hill, Marsden Park, St Marys, Rhodes, Burwood, Bondi Junction, Hurstville, Miranda and Narrellan, to name a few. "There will be a boost to residential growth in those centres in addition to jobs growth, creating more vibrant areas and greater mixed use outcomes," Mr Scully said. There are a handful of "emerging" areas. Rouse Hill and Kogarah are identified as "emerging major centres", while Leppington, Five Dock, Edgecliff, Fairfield, Oran Park and Wilton are forecast to be "emerging activity centres".