Architect Leslie Stein claims Sydney the worst planned city in the world

One of the key architects of the Greater Sydney Commission Three Cities plan says Sydney’s moribund planning system has failed to deliver and will ruin the city. See which projects are on a go slow.

The expert who helped design the future of Sydney has compared the planning systems of major cities globally and found NSW is “the worst in the world”.

Professor Leslie Stein was one of the key architects of the Greater Sydney Commission Three Cities plan but says Sydney’s moribund planning system has failed to deliver.

“When I was chief counsel for the Sydney Metropolitan Strategy in 2005, I thought that Sydney was on the right track,” Prof Stein told The Daily Telegraph.

“Unfortunately, I now see that the 2018 Metropolis of Three Cities will ruin Sydney and I am clear … Sydney now has the worst planning system in the world.”

He said the plan for an eastern harbour city, a central river city and a western parklands city where everyone lived within 30 minutes of their work had failed because “no one understands how the plan operates”.

Planning expert Professor Leslie Stein at the empty field in Leppington that should be a bustling metropolis now. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Prof Stein, who researched the planning regimes in 80 cities around the world, said the Three Cities Plan was “full of good concepts such as liveability and sustainability” but they were never explained.

“It all sounds good, but how do you put that in the legal controls, the Local Environmental Plan? How do you make a decision on a development application?” he said.

Cities such as Berlin and San Diego have documents that explain how to convert the ideas into realistic controls.

When he was planning minister, Rob Stokes attempted to put in a set of guidelines but they were axed by his successor Anthony Roberts after developers complained they were costly and impractical.

Eight years ago, a Sydney developer commissioned one of the world’s leading urban designers, US-based architect Stefanos Polyzoides, to design “a compact, diverse, mixed- use, durable, multimodal, walkable city” at Leppington in Sydney’s west.

His design was rejected by Camden Council. And while the developer has another idea trapped in the planning system, the Leppington site remains an empty field.

Former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian and Transport and Infrastructure Minister Andrew Constance in 2017. Picture: AAP/Dominica Sanda

Former PM Scott Morrison and NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet taking a tour of the WestConnex M4-M5 Link Tunnel last year. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Jeremy Piper

Mr Polyzoides told The Daily Telegraph “the regulations in place supported by the authorities promote a vision and physical outcomes opposite to that advocated by” the “failed urbanist”.

A Greater Cities Commission spokeswoman defended the organisation’s work, saying it “has contributed to more housing, jobs, infrastructure and services” being within a 30-minute reach of more people.

“The commission’s impact can be seen in the growth of Parramatta, Penrith and Liverpool in terms of transport links, access to green spaces and employment growth,” the spokeswoman said.

Tom Forrest from the Urban Taskforce said NSW’s complex planning system, in which the commission has an overarching role, was killing housing supply and driving up prices.

Then NSW premier Mike Baird and Finance Minister Dominic Perrottet announce plans for a major upgrade of Circular Quay in 2015. Picture: Chris Pavlich

“There is a desperate need to link housing supply and new jobs with infrastructure delivery and sound planning,” Mr Forrest said, adding major projects were coming in late and over budget.

“There have been lots of announcements regarding new jobs in the aerotropolis – but these jobs require servicing with roads and water.

“The NSW budget contained no funding for the delivery of the necessary upgrade for Elizabeth Drive, which remains a single lane in each direction goat track.”

Infrastructure Minister Rob Stokes said: “No Australian government has delivered infrastructure projects on the scale the NSW government has.

“We’re delivering more than $112bn of infrastructure over the next four years – which is the biggest program of works in our ­nation’s history.”