Urban Taskforce chief executive Tom Forrest said the “overwhelming view of the property construction and development industry is that the Design and Place SEPP should be entirely scrapped”,in an email to Whitworth and fellow deputy secretary Marcus Ray in February.
Notes from a meeting on April 11 with Whitworth and the department’s executive director of stakeholder engagement,William Power,also show Forrest had “noted the size of the[government architect’s] office has grown” and that he said,“architects shouldn’t have a role in planning”.
In March,Galvin said in an email to Whitworth that stopping work on the draft policy could mean the proposed reforms were “hard to pick up again”.
“Whilst housing and floods are all-consuming,taking our eye off the ball with things that impact climate,urban heat and basic amenity standards for new development doesn’t make sense as it should be helping housing supply,approval speed and flooding (long term) as opposed to hindering,” Galvin wrote in an email to Whitworth.
“Given the[financial] investment so far has been huge,it’s important not to throw all of that away.”
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In a separate email,Galvin said a ministerial adviser who contacted her about briefing Roberts was “keen to look at what options there may be for the Design and Place SEPP”. The adviser said the minister “didn’t have a great reputation when it came to climate – which they needed to address”.
A spokeswoman for Roberts said Premier Dominic Perrottet had requested the minister prioritise housing affordability and deliver new homes.
She said there had been extensive consultation on the decision to dump the draft SEPP.
“[The minister] will continue to develop elements of the Design and Place SEPP which support sustainable supply of housing that helps NSW meet its targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” the spokeswoman said.
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This included updating the Building Sustainability Index (BASIX) assessment tool to ensure new homes were more energy-efficient.
Forrest said construction costs were surging,and he welcomed Roberts’ decision to “remove this ill-considered burden from new home buyers”.
He said the taskforce had publicly opposed the draft SEPP along with the Property Council of Australia,the Housing Industry Association and the Urban Development Industry Association.
Forrest said it was “sensible for any planning minister to consider the views of key stakeholders”.
Galvin declined to comment.
The NSW chapter president of the Australian Institute of Architects,Laura Cockburn,said the organisation was keen to work with Roberts to “advance effective planning and design policies”.
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