The release of the draft District Plans by the Greater Sydney Commission marks a potentially new direction in making Sydney liveable and more environmentally sustainable, TEC said today.

 “The structure and culture of the GSC are distinctly different to past agencies and they have engaged in new research and community engagement techniques, including sponsoring an independent Environment Panel to provide a detailed analysis of Sydney’s environmental problems and solutions,” said Jeff Angel, Executive Director of the Centre.

“Critical issue like adequate green spaces, tree canopy, dangerous urban heat and climate change are major challenges for Sydney.”

 “We can’t stop the planning and development boat so we need to improve and control its direction; and certainly not let speculation and narrow economic claims drive it. A city has to achieve liveability, sustainability and economic goals at the same time. We have encouraged people to suspend cynicism at our community meetings. The draft District Plans are an important part of this process.”

 “The independent report by the Environment Panel which comprised 15 peak professional, community and academic groups will be released shortly. It will help the community and government benchmark the draft plans and provide important perspectives.”

 “It’s encouraging that the GSC supported this process and we look forward to further assisting them and the government,” Mr Angel said.