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The Sydney Region Outline Plan (SROP) was a land use and infrastructure scheme for metropolitan
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
released by the State Planning Authority in March 1968. The SROP superseded the 1948
County of Cumberland planning scheme The County of Cumberland planning scheme, commonly known as the Cumberland Plan, was a land use and transport strategy developed by the Cumberland County Council in Sydney in 1948 and adopted by the Government of New South Wales in 1951. The plan ...
. Whereas the Cumberland scheme echoed contemporary plans for London, the SROP adopted a Scandinavian model of town centres arranged along existing railway corridors. Although the SROP was replaced long before its 30-year time horizon, and many of its ideas were never put into practice, according to veteran planner Bob Meyer, "the shape of Sydney today is exactly as planned" in 1968. By focusing development on growth corridors along the rail network, the plan "has allowed Sydney to reach a population of 4.5 million people and achieve the highest use of public transport of any Australian city." According to the ''Dictionary of Sydney'', the "''Sydney Region Outline Plan'' set the basic blueprint for metropolitan corridor development in evidence today."


Failure of the Cumberland scheme

The Cumberland planners had correctly anticipated the growth of both demand for low-density suburban living and private motor vehicles by setting aside new residential growth areas and corridors for future expressways. But, 20 years on, other changes were making demands on the urban structure: new energy and communications infrastructure, the
containerisation Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers and ISO containers). Containerization is also referred as "Container Stuffing" or "Container Loading", which is the ...
of freight, the emergence of new industries and the growth of air travel. Reflecting the fashion of its time, the Cumberland scheme sought to encircle the Sydney of 1948 with a London-style
green belt A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wilderness, wild, or agricultural landscape, land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenway (lan ...
several kilometres wide, a proposal which did not enjoy widespread support from green belt landowners or State government departments. The green belt was formally abandoned in 1960 under pressure from the
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with " republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from th ...
, which saw the scheme as a costly impediment to postwar growth. The county council – controlled by representatives of the city's many local councils – was abolished in 1963 and replaced with a new State Planning Authority.


State Planning Authority

The State Planning Authority (SPA) was a
NSW Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...
agency Agency may refer to: Organizations * Institution, governmental or others ** Advertising agency or marketing agency, a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients ** Employment agency, a business that ...
established under the ''State Planning Authority Act 1963'' Commencing operations on 19 December 1963, the SPA replaced the Cumberland and
Northumberland Northumberland () is a ceremonial counties of England, county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Ab ...
county councils, and absorbed the town planning functions of the Department of Local Government. Initially, the SPA's governing body included nominees of: * the ministers for
Transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipel ...
and
Local Government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-lo ...
* the Commissioner for Main Roads * the
City of Sydney The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842 ...
* the Local Government Association * the Shires Association. They were joined by the nominee of a panel on which architects, engineers, surveyors and town planners were represented. Membership was enlarged in 1972 to include additional ministerial and departmental nominees. In April 1974, the Government merged the SPA with the
Department of Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...
to form a new
Planning and Environment Commission Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is consi ...
.


Planning principles

The SPA explicitly abandoned the Cumberland scheme's green belt and satellite cities, and devised a ''Sydney Region Outline Plan 1970–2000 A.D.'' with reference to seven principles: # extend the city along the linear railway corridors # a 'grid' of highways to reduce the dominance – and congestion – of the Sydney central business district (CBD) # new city centres, each with their own identity, within the larger metropolitan area # phasing of development to maximise the use of existing infrastructure before opening up new areas to subdivision # reserve multi-purpose utility corridors # develop Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong as "one linear urban complex" # create new commercial areas in the suburbs to balance employment across the metropolitan area. The green belt survived, in much reduced form, as linear parkland from the western expressway reservation west of
Prospect Reservoir The Prospect Reservoir is a heritage-listed potable water supply and storage reservoir created by the Prospect Dam, across the Prospect Creek located in the Western Sydney suburb of Prospect, in New South Wales, Australia. The eastern bound ...
south of Campbelltown. (The more distant green belt formed by a chain of national parks from
Broken Bay Broken Bay, a semi-mature tide-dominated drowned valley estuary, is a large inlet of the Tasman Sea located about north of Sydney central business district on the coast of New South Wales, Australia; being one of the bodies of water that sep ...
to
Port Hacking Port Hacking Estuary (Aboriginal Tharawal language: ''Deeban''), an open youthful tide dominated, drowned valley estuary, is located in southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia approximately south of Sydney central business district. ...
remains to this day.) The planned expressway network, too, was retained and expanded.


New city centres

To reduce congestion, the Plan called for new city centres across the metropolitan area, each with its own distinct identity and the full range of inner-city amenities. Two centres were given special prominence:
Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
, in the geographic centre of the
Sydney Basin The Sydney Basin is an interim Australian bioregion and is both a structural entity and a depositional area, now preserved on the east coast of New South Wales, Australia and with some of its eastern side now subsided beneath the Tasman Sea. ...
, and Campbelltown, in the south-west. The rapid growth of Parramatta as a commercial centre would require, in the words of the Plan, "boldness, imagination, vigorous action and the utmost co-operation" between landholders, developers, local and state government. Campbelltown was allocated space for a university, which later became part of the
University of Western Sydney Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, Australia. The university in its current form was founded in 1989 as a federated network ...
. Other city centres the plan sought to foster were: *
Blacktown Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Gr ...
,
Mount Druitt Mount Druitt is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Blacktown, and is part of the Greater Western Sydney r ...
and Penrith, along the western railway line *a future site in the "
Rouse Hill Rouse Hill is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rouse Hill is located in the Hills District, New South Wales, Hills District, 43 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and 19 kilometres north- ...
Maraylya Maraylya is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Maraylya is located north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of The Hills Shire and the City of Hawkesbury. Maraylya is bou ...
area" once the area was developed * Chatswood, to serve the
North Shore North Shore or Northshore may refer to: Geographic features Australia *North Shore (Sydney), a suburban region of Sydney **Electoral district of North Shore **North Shore railway line, Sydney *Noosa North Shore, Queensland * North Shore, New So ...
and
Northern Beaches The Northern Beaches is a region within Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, near the Pacific coast. This area extends south to the entrance of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), west to Middle Harbour and north to the en ...
*
Camden Camden may refer to: People * Camden (surname), a surname of English origin * Camden Joy (born 1964), American writer * Camden Toy (born 1957), American actor Places Australia * Camden, New South Wales * Camden, Rosehill, a heritage res ...
and
Appin Appin ( gd, An Apainn) is a coastal district of the Scottish West Highlands bounded to the west by Loch Linnhe, to the south by Loch Creran, to the east by the districts of Benderloch and Lorne, and to the north by Loch Leven. It lies northeas ...
in the south-west. The SROP required that major commercial and retail developments be sited on the existing railway network, preventing the development of car-dependent standalone shopping malls on the urban fringe. Though initially resisted by the retail sector, this requirement eventually succeeded in integrating malls with town centres.


New suburbs

The plan identified new corridors for development along the main western and southern railway lines. In the longer term, it recommended investigation of new suburbs along the Richmond branch line, at Appin in the Southern Highlands, in the
Gosford Gosford is the city and administrative centre of the Central Coast Council local government area in the heart of the Central Coast region, about north of Sydney and about south of Newcastle. The city centre is situated at the northern ext ...
and
Wyong Wyong () is a town in the Central Coast of New South Wales, located approximately 63 km SSW of Newcastle and 89 km NNE of Sydney. Established in 1888, it is one of the two administrative centres for the local government area. His ...
areas, the Forest District and
Holsworthy Holsworthy is a market town and civil parish in the Torridge district of Devon, England, some west of Exeter. The River Deer, a tributary of the River Tamar, forms the western boundary of the parish, which includes the village of Brandis Cor ...
.


Infrastructure

In addition to dedicated utilities corridors, the plan contained an ambitious infrastructure agenda: * 350 miles of new expressway * new university campuses at Campbelltown and Penrith * responding to increased trade and containerisation by shifting more port facilities out of Sydney Harbour, to the northern shore of
Port Botany Port Botany is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Port Botany is located 12 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Randwick. Por ...
* expansion of
Sydney Airport Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (colloquially Mascot Airport, Kingsford Smith Airport, or Sydney Airport; ; ) is an international airport in Sydney, Australia, located 8 km (5 mi) south of the Sydney central business district, in t ...
, including additional land on the
Kurnell Kurnell is a suburb in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is south of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire along the east coast. Cronulla and Woolooware are the onl ...
Peninsula * a new international airport in the vicinity of
Wyong Wyong () is a town in the Central Coast of New South Wales, located approximately 63 km SSW of Newcastle and 89 km NNE of Sydney. Established in 1888, it is one of the two administrative centres for the local government area. His ...
, plus a number of smaller airfields across the city to serve general and freight aviation * extension of the
East Hills railway line The East Hills railway line serves the southern and south-western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. The line opened to East Hills in 1931 and was extended to connect to the Main South line in 1987. Most services along the line form part of the Ai ...
from East Hills to connect with the
Main South line The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railway line that runs north and south from Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the South Island to Inv ...
at Glenfield * a new railway line from the CBD to the Eastern Suburbs, terminating at the
University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...
* acquisition of more hydrofoils for the harbour ferry network * establish commuter car parks and bus–rail interchanges, and reorient the bus network to feed passengers onto trains * a "rapid transit" train system between Penrith, Parramatta and the CBD, with faster, lighter rolling stock running on dedicated tracks.


Legacy

Since
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
the watchword had been 'populate or perish' – but by the middle of the 1970s such sentiments could no longer secure support for major projects. The planners delivering the SROP faced criticism on cost, heritage, environmental and social-policy grounds. The troubled Mount Druitt and Green Valley public housing estates, the contentious demolition of older inner-city homes to build expressways, a deteriorating economy and a more febrile political atmosphere combined to force a rethink of the city's approach to growth. The
Askin Askin is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Ambrose Askin, British rugby player * Frank Askin, professor and activist *John Askin (1739–1815), fur trader in Canada *John Askin Jr. (c1765–1820), fur trader and government offic ...
government responded in 1974, merging the SPA with the Department of Environment to form a new Planning and Environment Commission, forerunner of today's Department of Planning. The SROP was effectively torn up in 1977, when the Wran
Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
government cancelled a slew of major projects and began selling off infrastructure reservations in return for political support from the powerful
Green ban A green ban is a form of strike action, usually taken by a trade union or other organised labour group, which is conducted for environmentalist or conservationist purposes. They were mainly done in Australia in the 1970s, led by the Builders Lab ...
s movement. A review of metropolitan planning followed in 1980, and a new scheme, ''
Sydney into Its Third Century Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountains ...
'', was published in 1988. Yet much of what the SROP envisaged came to fruition, including much of the motorway network,
Western Sydney Parklands The Western Sydney Parklands is an park system, urban park system and a nature reserve located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The NSW government has spent around $400 million for the park. The park is governed by the New South Wales Depa ...
, the
University of Western Sydney Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, Australia. The university in its current form was founded in 1989 as a federated network ...
,
Port Botany Port Botany is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Port Botany is located 12 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Randwick. Por ...
, more integrated public transport services and – in the near future – rapid transit trains and a
Second Sydney Airport The need for and location of a second airport serving Sydney, Australia was the subject of much debate. The new airport would supplement or replace the city's existing Kingsford Smith Airport. Governments had debated the issue since the 1940s, ...
. In retrospect, the SROP underestimated
urban density Urban density is a term used in urban planning and urban design to refer to the number of people inhabiting a given urbanized area. As such it is to be distinguished from other measures of population density. Urban density is considered an importa ...
and failed to anticipate the falling number of people per household, meaning that the footprint earmarked for five million people by 2000 ended up accommodating only four million. While Chatswood and Parramatta developed into fully-fledged city centres, Campbelltown did not attract the same degree of commercial growth.


References

{{reflist


External Links


Digitised 1968 Sydney Region Outline Plan: 1970-2000 A.D - City of Sydney Archives
Urban planning in Australia 1968 establishments in Australia Transport in Sydney 1960s in Sydney Parramatta