Two independent commissions tasked with overseeing and aligning city-shaping planning across the Sydney metropolis will soon be without most of their planners.
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Almost 350 planners from the Greater Cities Commission and Western Parklands City Authority will soon be shifted to the state's planning department.
It comes as NSW addresses a housing shortage made more stark by building fewer homes than Victoria and Queensland.
"We've had more agencies and departments than ever before, yet processing times are at their slowest point in nearly a decade," Premier Chris Minns said on Tuesday.
"Something has to give and this rationalisation of the Department of Planning will make, we hope, a big difference in planning decisions in NSW."
He said the move would remove duplicity and focus planners on delivery.
The opposition labelled the move disgraceful, saying it will hamper the delivery of new housing.
"Labor's decision to disband the (Greater Cities Commission) will lead to less independence, a more adversarial approach with local government and will undoubtedly delay the commission's work on delivering new local housing targets," opposition planning spokesman Scott Farlow said.
Average planning processing times have recently blown out to 116 days and the state's productivity commission in May outlined how NSW had only built six homes per 1000 residents in the past three decades.
Victoria and Queensland built about eight and nine homes per 1000 residents respectively.
While the new changes gut the two commissions, getting rid of them wasn't an option without legislation - a harder task for the minority Minns government.
The Greater Cities Commission, formerly the Greater Sydney Commission, had been delivering a strategic plan for the Six Cities model, the future of the greater Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong metropolis.
Remaining staff and commissioners will continue that work.
Planning work for the new Bradfield city near the Western Sydney Airport will shift to the planning department from the Western Parklands City Authority, which retains responsibility for attracting fresh investment to the area.
No jobs will be lost as a result of the changes.
Urban policy think tank, the Committee for Sydney, welcomed the retention and increased independence of the Greater Cities commissioners under the new regimen.
"There's a clear logic to bringing together the key planning entities across government," chief executive Eamon Waterford said.
"Whatever we do, we can't hit the brakes on unified strategic planning across Greater Sydney and the broader mega-region.
"Now more than ever, we need to take a long-term and unified approach to planning land use, transport and economic activity."
The Property Council also backed in the move, which "provides useful clarity to industry and consolidates planning functions" inside the department.
Australian Associated Press
