NOTICE OF Council MEETING

 

Late Items

 

The Meeting of Parramatta City Council will be held in the Council Chamber, Fourth Floor, 2 Civic Place, Parramatta on Monday, 28 May 2012 at  6:45pm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Robert Lang

Chief Executive Officer

 

 

 Parramatta – the leading city at the heart of Sydney

 

30 Darcy Street Parramatta NSW 2150

PO Box 32 Parramatta

 

Phone 02 9806 5050 Fax 02 9806 5917 DX 8279 Parramatta

ABN 49 907 174 773  www.parracity.nsw.gov.au

 

“Think Before You Print”

 

 


Council                                                                                                                   28 May 2012

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

ITEM                                                         SUBJECT                                              PAGE NO

 

  

L       Economy and Development

L.1              Parramatta 10,000    


 

Economy and Development

 

28 May 2012

 

L.1              Parramatta 10,000


Council 28 May 2012                                                                                                           Item L.1

ECONOMY AND DEVELOPMENT

ITEM NUMBER         L.1

SUBJECT                   Parramatta 10,000

REFERENCE            F2005/00282 - D02366127

REPORT OF              Group Manager Outcomes and Development       

 

PURPOSE:

 

1.      This report provides a response to Council resolutions regarding the economic growth of Parramatta, including Parramatta 10,000 and an advocacy campaign to attract state government agencies to Parramatta. 

 

2.      It is recommended that the Council endorse the related objectives and strategies and note the activities associated with the advocacy campaign.   It is also recommended that an expression of interest be sought for suitably qualified persons to advocate on behalf of the Council, and the City Identity Strategy for Parramatta be adopted.

 

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

(a)       That the Council adopt the City Identity Strategy, Parramatta Future Generation, and that a further report be prepared on the implementation of this strategy;

 

(b)       That the Council notes and endorses the Parramatta Centre Economic Development and Employment Potential report;

 

(c)        That the Council adopt the Parramatta Engagement and Advocacy Strategy and the Public Sector Attraction Plan to guide and inform the strategy to advocate for a reshaping of the future of Sydney, focused on increasing jobs growth in Parramatta;

 

(d)       That the Council adopt the objectives and strategies of the Parramatta 10,000 program as outlined in the officers report;

 

(e)       Further, that the CEO be authorised to call for expressions of interest for a suitably qualified person to advocate to the state and federal government on key infrastructure needs and jobs growth in Parramatta.

 

 

BACKGROUND

 

1.         Council at its meeting of 14 November 2011 resolved:

 

(a)     That Council endorse the Ernst & Young report to be used as a basis for advocacy meetings with Infrastructure NSW, Infrastructure Australia and other government departments.

(b)     That a report be provided to Council on the make up of the task force.

(c)     That in view, of the recommendation of the Ernst and Young report, and the O’Farrell government’s commitment to move public servants to western Sydney, PCC develop a report on an implementation and advocacy plan to attract State Government Departments. This report to examine:-

1.      A systematic approach to lobby the NSW Government.

2.      The scope for amending density of the
Civic Place precinct and City Centre with a view to accommodating a potential expansion of the height and floor space ratio in line with state government’s needs.

3.      Prepare a program regarding specific State Government departments to lobby.

4.      Examine the scope for the involvement of the Chairman of the Economic Development Forum.

5.      Examine the potential for advertising or the employment of professional lobbyists.

6.      The formation of a separate sub committee to guide this process and the composition of the sub committee.

(d)     Further, that the Minister for Western Sydney and all Western Sydney State and Federal MPs be requested to lobby the government on behalf of Council with respect to this matter.”

 

2.      In addition the Council on 26 March 2012 resolved:

 

“(a)    That Council endorse, in principle, the Parramatta 10,000 campaign and seek a report from Council officers about its implementation at a future Council meeting.

(b)     That Council write to the Premier, relevant Ministers and Members of Parliament to seek their support for and commitment to Parramatta 10,000.

(c)     Further, that Council write to the Directors-General of relevant state government departments and agencies seeking their support and commitment to Parramatta 10,000.”

 

3.      These two resolutions deal with the growth of Parramatta and the role Parramatta will play in the future of Metropolitan Sydney and therefore this report responds to both resolutions.

 

4.      Four key documents have been prepared to respond to these resolutions:

 

·    Parramatta Centre Economic Development and Employment Potential – Attachment A

·    City Identity Strategy  - Attachment B

·    The Parramatta Engagement and Advocacy Strategy (PEAS) – Attachment C

·    The State Government Attraction Plan – Attachment D

 

5.      The Parramatta Engagement and Advocacy Strategy (PEAS) provides the overall framework for engagement and advocacy and follows on from the Ernst and Young report considered by the Council in November 2011.

 

6.      The State Government Attraction Plan sets out the advocacy strategy to attract the state government agencies to Parramatta, as required by the resolution of 14 November 2011.

 

7.      These Plans are also important for the work associated with Parramatta 10,000 program.

 

8.      Significantly work has been undertaken to implement the November 2011 resolution and these actions are summarized in Attachment E.

 

Parramatta 10,000

 

9.      The title of this program reflects the objective to create a least 10,000 new jobs in Parramatta over the next 5 years.   Job growth occurs through the growth of existing businesses and the attraction of new businesses.  To accommodate 10,000 new office based jobs will require 200,000m2 of commercial floor space.  To provide scale to these numbers, the “Elipse” building (under construction) is approximately 20,000m2.

 

10.    Parramatta 10,000 is a program that enables Council to respond to a number of emerging issues affecting Metropolitan Sydney:

 

·   State Government’s Review of the Metropolitan Plan for Sydney 2036

·   Sydney Metropolitan Development Authority’s involvement in the review of Auto Alley and the assessment of its strategic direction

·   State government’s announcement of possible decentralisation of government  departments from the Sydney CBD

·   Reconfiguration of Civic Place arrangement that have put Council in control of the design, staging and tenant attraction.

·   Changes in the metropolitan property market, making tenant attraction the key determinant of supply.

 

11.    A key component of the Parramatta 10,000 is to reframe the public debate, so as to influence public and private policy decisions, about how and where job growth should occur as metropolitan Sydney continues to grow.  Most of the population growth continues to occur in the dormitory western suburbs, yet currently most of the jobs growth in planned to occur in the east. This lopsided growth for Sydney will erode the quality of life for people living in western Sydney and significantly worsen traffic congestion and congestion on the main rail routes into the Sydney CBD.

 

12.    The Parramatta Centre Economic Development and Employment Potential report (attachment A) considers the potential employment futures for Parramatta and makes the very strong case that the state governments current additional 27,000 jobs target for Parramatta by 2036, should be increased to 47,000 new jobs.

 

13.    Parramatta 10,000 program will include:

 

·   Research and position setting

·   City Identity development

·   Advocacy for a significant uplift in the jobs growth targets reflective of the widening jobs deficit, need for city building and opportunity presented by Parramatta

·   Advocacy for the movement of government jobs to Parramatta aligned to City building agenda of local, state and federal governments.

·   Internal review of Council business units and strategies so that they can be integrated to drive jobs growth and property development

·   Gap analysis which will identify some key programs that need to be implemented to complement the Economic Development Strategy.

 

14.    The City Identity development has evolved from the work undertaken by Generation Alliance, which was presented to the Councillors at a workshop in March.  It is built around the theme of Future Generation, and presents a bold confident vision for Parramatta.  This City Identity work provided the framework for the presentation material for the Parramatta Economic Development Forum (held on 16 May).

 

15.    Parramatta 10,000 will be a focus for the organisation for the next 4 to 6 months.  After which the program will be normalized and will imbedded within existing Council programs, in particular the Economic Development Strategy.

 

16.    The key measure of success for the program will be:

 

·   A policy shift by the state government, reflected in the adoption of the increased job growth figures for Parramatta and other western Sydney centres as part of the state governments review of the Metropolitan Strategy for Parramatta.

 

·   State government pre-commitment to leases, to facilitate new office development in Parramatta (especially around Civic Place).

 

·   Perception changes about the future of Parramatta as reflected in media and ongoing worker surveys.

 

17.    Actions to be undertaken under Parramatta 10,000 are summarised in attachment E.

 

18.    These outcomes will then provide a solid base for the implementation of the Economic Development Strategy, which has a focus on the growth of existing businesses in Parramatta.

 

19.    Advocacy must be evidenced based.  It will require investment in studies that make the “why Parramatta” a compelling proposition.   There is also a need to give Parramatta a “louder voice”, linked to the City Identity.  Currently Mr Chris Brown, Chair of the Economic Development Forum is providing some support to Council officers for this.  This is however beyond the scope of his engagement, and further resources are required over the next 4 months to tap into the opportunities associated with potential relocation of government agencies and support for infrastructure projects (eg. Western Sydney Light rail and Regional Ring Road).

 

FINANCIAL IMPACT

 

20.    The 2012/2013 Delivery Plan allocates $150,000 for Job Attraction. If Council is mindful to proceed with the recommendations of this report, then an additional $150,000 will be required this financial year to fund the City Identity and the engagement of an advocate.  This could be funded through budget savings.

 

 

 

Attachments:

1View

Attachment A - Parramatta Centre Economic Development and Employment Potential

64 Pages

 

2View

Attachment B - City Identity Strategy

14 Pages

 

3View

Attachment C - The Parramatta Engagement and Advocacy Strategy (PEAS)

19 Pages

 

4View

Attachment D - The State Government Attraction Plan

17 Pages

 

5View

Attachment E - Proposed Actions

2 Pages

 

6View

Attachment F - Summary of Actions in Response to Council resolution of November

2 Pages

 

 

 

REFERENCE MATERIAL

 


Item L.1 - Attachment 1

Attachment A - Parramatta Centre Economic Development and Employment Potential

 

















































Item L.1 - Attachment 1

Attachment A - Parramatta Centre Economic Development and Employment Potential

 










Item L.1 - Attachment 1

Attachment A - Parramatta Centre Economic Development and Employment Potential

 








Item L.1 - Attachment 2

Attachment B - City Identity Strategy

 















Item L.1 - Attachment 3

Attachment C - The Parramatta Engagement and Advocacy Strategy (PEAS)

 




















Item L.1 - Attachment 4

Attachment D - The State Government Attraction Plan

 


















Item L.1 - Attachment 5

Attachment E - Proposed Actions

 

ATTACHMENT E

 

 

Proposed Actions – Parramatta 10,000

 

ADVOCACY

 

       Formulate advocacy position and seek formal recognition at State level for:

 

1)        Parramatta’s identity as a city

2)        Parramatta’s continued priority status in Metropolitan Plan for Sydney

3)        Concept of Greater Parramatta Enterprise Zone – CBD + 4 specialised precincts

4)        Higher job targets across Greater Parramatta reflective of population growth, demographics and need

5)        Infrastructure, precinct planning and other provisions to support enhanced role of centre within Sydney

 

STIMULATE DEMAND (tenant attraction)

 

       Target State Government partnership and relocation:

 

1)      Promote re-adoption of decentralisation as State Government policy

2)         Promote Parramatta as optimal location for decentralisation or consolidation of government business units with Parramatta CBD

3)         Propose formal local-state partnership to progress city-building outside Sydney CBD via activation of Council-owned State-significant sites in Parramatta CBD

4)         Seek change in policy preventing government pre-lease to mooted developments

5)         Leverage government tenancies to reactivate CBD property markets (city-wide)

 

       Target private sector business relocation and investment in Parramatta:

 

1)         Broaden understanding of attributes of GWS economy and Parramatta’s role within it

2)      Broaden understanding of Parramatta’s business investor target markets

3)         Develop marketing and communications platform based on new city identity and evidence-based rationale for investing in GWS/Parramatta

4)         Establish advocate group (business, academia, neighbouring Central/Western Sydney Councils)

5)         Use Economic Development Forum and other vehicles to build awareness of the offer

6)      Secure private sector CBD tenants

 

       Improve Parramatta CBD product offering (amenity and activity of the CBD):

 

1)         Develop high level Place Strategy and Urban Design Scheme for CBD – this work has commenced

2)         Invest in major upgrade of CBD public domain and civic infrastructure – some work commenced, and more required

3)         Implement Small Business/Retail Strategy focused on activation of street life and lanes

4)         Implement cultural plan focused on activation of street life and lanes through programming

5)      Implement high level PR and communications to drive perception change

 

STIMULATE SUPPLY (land, property, capital)

 

         Ensure city can respond to increased demand for land, property, capital and transport from new public and private sector tenants.

 

1)         Review planning controls applying to CBD (including review of Civic Place controls) to ensure projects are viable for commercial developers  - work has commenced on the review of the City Centre LEP and DCP.

2)         Target property finance sector – raise profile of Parramatta in domestic and foreign markets – trip to Singapore Property exhibition planned for July.

3)         Explore opportunities for re-establishment of Greater Parramatta Planning Panel

4)         Continue to evolve Parramatta’s policy and advocacy work around transport based on new population and jobs targets

 


Item L.1 - Attachment 6

Attachment F - Summary of Actions in Response to Council resolution of November

 

Attachment F

 

Summary of Actions in Response to Council resolution of November 

 

(a) "That Council endorse the Ernst & Young report to be used as a basis for advocacy meetings with Infrastructure NSW, Infrastructure Australia and other government departments.

 

No further action required.

 

(b) “That a report be provided to Council on the make up of the taskforce”

 

The taskforce referred to in the Ernst and Young report is proposed as a local, state and federal initiative, with private sector representation, headed and chaired by Infrastructure NSW. It has the goal of corralling the resources and statutory powers of three levels of government to deliver a central city for Sydney at Parramatta.

 

If the proposal proceeds, the taskforce would include:

 

·        Representative from Parramatta Council; CEO and/or Lord Mayor of the day

·        Nick Greiner and/or Paul Broad, Infrastructure NSW

·        Mike Mrdak or Michael Deegan, Infrastructure Australia

·        Sam Haddad, Department Planning and Infrastructure

·        Professor Peter Shergold, University of Western Sydney

·        Representative, Deloitte

·        Representative, Westmead Research Hub

·        Representative, Westfield

 

Current status:

 

·        The idea has been presented to the State Government by the Chair of the Parramatta Economic Development Forum, Christopher Brown. 

 

·        The State Government has indicated it will not establish a taskforce in its first term as it has other priorities. It is unclear whether it will be a second term priority if the O’Farrell Government is returned to office. 

                                               

·        Parramatta City Council continues to strengthen relations with each of the organisations listed above via the Parramatta Engagement and Advocacy Strategy (PEAS), the city identity project, and the joint planning of the Economic Development Forum 2012.

 

·        Parramatta and its partners are well placed to contribute to the establishment and/or operation of a taskforce should one emerge in the future.

 

 

(c) “That… PCC develop a report on an implementation and advocacy plan to attract State Government Departments. This report to examine:

 

1.    A systematic approach to lobbying the state government

2.    The scope for amending city centre (inc Civic Place) planning controls in line with state government needs

3.    State government departments to lobby

4.    Involvement of the Chair, Economic Development Forum

5.    Potential for advertising for and employing professional lobbyists

6.    Formation of a separate sub-committee to guide the process, detail required re composition of the sub-committee”

 

Two strategies have been created in response to this resolution:

 

I. Parramatta Engagement and Advocacy Strategy 2012 – outlines a systematic approach to working with and influencing all three levels of government (responds to question C.1)

 

II. Implementation and Advocacy Plan to Attract State Government Departments to Parramatta 2012 – provides a rationale for targeting government departments and a framework for attracting them as anchor tenants on major sites (question C. 3-6). While this plan refers to revised strategy for Civic Place (question C.2) it advises that a more detailed plan will be sent to Councillors once the full reformulation of the Civic Place Strategy, now that the arrangement with Grocon has ended, has been finalised.

 

The two strategies listed above will be provided to Council as part of the report on Parramatta 10,000 in May 2012.

 

(d) “Further, that the Minister for Western Sydney and all Western Sydney State and Federal MPs be requested to lobby the government on behalf of Council with respect to this matter”

 

Decentralisation of government agencies to Parramatta was a focus of the MP’s Breakfast held 16 April where the Lord Mayor spoke to the issue and gave each MP a 6 page brochure as background. MPs were urged to press the Premier for action on jobs and to promote the benefits of a Parramatta/Western Sydney location.

 

A separate briefing with the Hon. Geoff Lee has been requested.