184 homes need to be built every week on the North Shore to meet growth target

Nearly 40,000 new homes will need to be constructed in northern Sydney suburbs by 2029 in order to meet State Government deadlines for more housing supply.

Demand means the homes - 38,300 to be precise, at an average of 184.1 homes per week - will be built five years ahead of schedule.

More people, more waste

A new blueprint from the Northern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (NSROC) - which represents Hornsby, Hunter’s Hill, Ku-ring-gai, Lane Cove, Mosman, North Sydney, Ryde and Willoughby councils - outlines the infrastructure challenges facing local government as Sydney expands in coming years.

The document focuses on housing, population, waste management and transport, and infrastructure projects that require further funding to proceed. The North Shore Lorikeet will be unpacking the report in more detail in coming weeks.

“The region we represent has been subject to a substantial increase in population,” the NSROC said. “We’re seeing housing densification, demographic changes, more environmental challenges and greater pressure on our services. These factors drive growth in infrastructure demand.”

It said new low and mid-rise housing reforms “will see an increase in multi- unit developments in locations near rail stations, as well as key employment and town centres. We also expect to see an increase in the turnover of single dwellings to lower-scale multi-unit housing”.

Barriers to productivity

Master Builders Australia said on Tuesday that construction costs had increased by 40 per cent in the last five years, while residential build times had extended by up to 80 per cent over 15 years. CEO Denita Wawn said: “The Federal Government must remove barriers to productivity and bring down construction costs to ensure new projects stack up.”

The NSROC said its priorities were “new projects that are critical for maintaining and growing the liveability, productivity and sustainability values of the region”, but that it was facing increased “delivery challenges and construction costs”.

“We need innovation and leadership in all aspects of infrastructure delivery, from shaping demand to optimising assets and collaborative delivery as we respond to past infrastructure deficits and new demand arising from ongoing trends in our community.”

Easier getting around

The councils said that the Sydney Metro City and South West transport projects would “transform the region’s four largest employment centres – North Sydney, Macquarie Park, St Leonards and Chatswood”, and pointed to a 25-minute travel time from Macquarie Park to Central Station.

“Enhanced transport options implemented alongside recent State Government reforms will stimulate housing and employment growth at station locations,” the NSROC said.

No love lost between councils and the State Government

The endless push and pull between Local and State Governments - where the former applies to the latter for grants and, if successful, are often lumbered with rising costs and complex projects to manage - was evident in the document.

“With rising infrastructure costs, the NSW Government is focused on infrastructure deemed ‘critical’ to the state. This transfers a significant financial burden to councils.”

The recent rate increase controversy in North Sydney was mentioned, as the NSROC claimed councils are straddled with “a rate peg methodology that does not adequately account for the impacts of growth” and “severely constrains councils’ capacity to raise funds”.

Hornsby Shire Councillor and Vice President of NSROC, Nathan Tilbury, said: “Our councils are seeking funding certainty to deliver shared priorities that benefit our communities.”

Image credit: Maximillian Conacher (left) and Andy Quezada (right)