Meriton slams planning delays, border closures as it rebounds from COVID-19

Harry Triguboff’s Meriton has taken aim at the state government claiming we will pay more for our homes as a result of NSW’s planning system.

Sydney’s biggest player in the development of new apartment buildings has slammed delays in the NSW planning system and claimed buyers in the city’s ultra-competitive property market will pay more for their units as a result.

A sharp drop in the number of apartments approved in NSW has been singled out by developer giant Meriton as the company’s greatest challenge as it rebounds from the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic.

Meriton, founded by multi-billionaire Harry Triguboff, has also said international border restrictions are hitting the market hard and has stifled overseas sales.

The company’s projects include 4000 news units at Pagewood Green.

Latest seasonal Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show approvals for new apartments and townhouses in NSW declined by 23 per cent at the end of January, signalling a dramatic downshift in the high-density sector.

Meriton’s executive manager of planning and government Matthew Lennartz said approvals were failing to meet demand and would therefore “exacerbate” price growth in Sydney’s housing market.

“We would prefer to be building more despite COVID-19, however the biggest impediment to us building is obtaining approvals through the NSW planning system,” he said.

“Increasing apartment approvals which provides the most efficient form of housing as the infrastructure and amenities already exist should be a priority as we recover from the COVID crisis.

Meriton founder Harry Triguboff.

“Unfortunately, right now when we need it most, approvals are still very difficult to obtain.”

The Department of Planning said it was in the process of slashing time frames in the development assessment process by 2024.

“Over the next three years we will cut assessment time frames and unblock projects stuck in the system as active management of projects becomes ‘business as usual’,” a department spokeswoman said.

“While we are speeding up assessment times it’s important to ensure that we aren’t foregoing quality for quantity.

“The assessment process exists to ensure well-designed homes are built in the right areas and supported by the right infrastructure.”

Despite record low unit approvals, the State Government has green-lit 101 major projects over the last 12 months as part of a “fast-tracked” approval aimed at stimulating jobs and economic growth.

Meriton currently has $2 billion worth of construction projects in the pipeline along with proposals such as 4000 units at Pagewood Green and the tallest skyscraper in Macquarie Park.

An early concept plan of the Little Bay project.

Some of the company’s plans have been met with fierce opposition from residents and local councils including a proposal for 2000 units in a series of high rise towers at Little Bay.

Save Little Bay spokesman Olde Lorenzen said fast-tracking large-scale development projects could spell disaster for suburbs across Sydney.

“Full and rigorous assessments should be a matter of course for mega developments with thousands of dwellings – good urban planning requires time and expertise,” he said.

“Fast-tracking assessments will only bring us more soulless cookie-cutter developments plonked into our suburbs. We need to make better planning decisions, post-COVID more than ever.”

International borders are not expected to fully reopen until 2022.

Meriton has also named restrictions on international borders as a challenge facing the housing market, with full border reopenings not expected until 2022.

“International border restrictions have stifled plenty of overseas sales – these sales are crucial to developers who require presales to fund construction. Meriton is fortunate because we do not require presales to start building but we need to think of the greater economy and industry,” Meriton’s director of residential sales James Sialepis said.

“Without migrants and students arriving into the country this market is suffering. When you add the exorbitant foreign surcharges overseas buyers must pay we could be waiting for some time to revive this.”

The Department of Planning said it would ensure councils “implement strategies which identify new areas to accommodate housing growth” in line with Greater Sydney’s housing targets.

“We recently exhibited a proposed Housing SEPP that will also help facilitate the delivery of housing that meets the needs of the State’s growing population, particularly during the recovery phase following the COVID-19 pandemic including the introduction of build to rent housing,” the department spokeswoman said.