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- Planning red tape is costing Western Australia’s economy millions of dollars each year, a new report from the Property Council of Australia says
- Amanda Shipton, Director at Align Strategy+Projects says planning system-induced delays can mean affordable projects struggle to get off the ground
- Scott Cameron, General Manager Project Co0ordination at Finbar Group, says rising construction costs are a contributing factor to affordability concerns
- Tom Oosterhof, Chief Executive Officer at Eastcourt, says industrial projects are not happening due to uncertainty and delays in the planning system
Planning red tape is costing Western Australia’s economy millions of dollars each year and is contributing to rising house prices, a report from the Property Council of Australia claims.
The Property Council paper is a response to the Western Australian Government’s request for views on planning reform made in June, which aimed to improve openness and uniformity, and minimise red tape.
According to the Property Council’s modelling, reductions in red tape expenses would surpass $80 million in the first six months of 2021 if they were to equal only one per cent of the value of construction permits.
“A robust, well-resourced planning system empowers decision-makers to analyse the potential of projects with confidence while giving the community a clear future vision and channels to contribute to the process,” Property Council WA executive director Sandra Brewer said.
Speaking at a recent Property Council event Amanda Shipton, director at Align Strategy+Projects, said project delays caused by the planning system could mean projects targeting lower socioeconomic markets struggled to get off the ground.
“In price-sensitive and lower margin areas, even a six-month delay has a huge impact,” she said. “So a project either doesn’t proceed, or it proceeds down a pathway of low risk and least resistance, potentially at the expense of innovation and quality outcomes into those communities.”
Suzanne Woolhouse, program strategy manager at DevelopmentWA echoed this view, saying housing affordability could be worsened as projects targeting the lower price points were most impacted by delays.
“The stuff that’s marginal, that gets hit the hardest by these [delays], they’re the ones that we actually need to progress the most,” she said.
Scott Cameron, general manager project coordination at Finbar Group, said three-storey projects on large sites in the suburban fringe were becoming difficult to do.
“As an industry, we’re going to struggle to get housing affordability and diversity into the marketplace because it’s all just becoming too hard and too expensive,” he said.
However it isn’t just the residential side of the equation feeling the pinch. Tom Oosterhof, CEO at Eastcourt, said industrial projects were not happening due to uncertainty and delays in the planning system.
“Our clients just can’t deal with the unknowns and the time delays, so development just doesn’t occur,” he said.
“Time delays, in my work … kill deals and they kill feasibility studies.”
Property Council’s Planning to Deliver paper identifies 36 areas for improvement – including key reforms of greater certainty, concurrent approvals, stronger implementation of state infill targets and a ‘digital first’ approach to planning.
Ms Brewer said the report also underscored the inherent strengths of the state’s planning system.
“There are many aspects of the planning system that work well,” she said. “The Western Australian Planning Commission has a clear purpose and approachable people, we have a mature infill policy and leadership from our State Government.
“Our Government’s collective appetite for planning reform is refreshing and an unmissable opportunity for us to work together.
“As WA grows, so too will the demands on our planning system. We will need homes, schools, hospitals, retail spaces, ports, transport links and tourism precincts, and our aspiration should be to deliver these efficiently so everyone can benefit.”
