2031: a land odyssey – article in New Home Buyer

WEST
Blacktown and Penrith areas
14,067 Potential Dwellings

Most land released in the west will actually be supplementing existing release areas. In the near future, more land will be released in Delphin’s Ropes Crossing development in St Marys. In the more distant future, there’ll be more land available in Glenmore Park, as well as more in Claremont Meadows and nearby Caddens Road.

The biggest release in the West over the next 25 years will be the 4500 dwellings planned for Penrith Lakes. Considering this area is still Australia’s largest sand and gravel pit, an accurate timeline is hard to ascertain. In the meantime, Stockland will continue to release more waterfront properties in Penrith as part of their Waterside development.

South West
Camden, Campbelltown, Liverpool and Wollondilly areas
40,767 Potential Dwellings

The quality of recent developments in South West Sydney has been extremely high. For instance, in 2006, the Urban Development Institute of Australia acknowledged the excellence of Landcom and Stockland’s Macarthur Gardens; previous to that, the same institute had honoured Harrington Park.

According to the MDP 2007, it seems that the quantity of development will also be extreme as we move towards 2031. Over twenty separate sites have been earmarked for land releases, including highly anticipated further releases in Harrington Park, and the beginnings of Harrington Park II. Also adding to recent local development will be supplementary releases in Elderslie, Macquarie Links and Prestons.

The first new suburb to appear will probably be Landcom’s Spring Farm (between Mt Annan and Camden), which will eventually contain just under 4000 dwellings. The biggest area in the South West will be 8000 dwellings in Oran Park. This project has a twenty year development horizon, although Landcom and the Greenfield Development Corporation have begun a joint venture to develop the first 2000 lots. Additionally, just south of Oran Park, another 4000 dwellings are planned for Turner Road near Smeaton Grange.

Some areas will have to overcome interesting challenges before the new home buyers are let loose. For instance, Edmondson Park will eventually hold 7500 dwellings. However, the area is currently owned by over 150 different parties, making co-ordination difficult. Landcom, however, is still predicting that the first lots will begin selling in 2008.

In the far South of Sydney, Menangle Park is scheduled for 4200 dwellings. Further North, South Hoxton Park, or Middleton Grange, which will eventually contain just under 2500 dwellings, will be developed by Landcom, “over the next few years”.