An integrated Industrial Lands Action Plan is set to simplify planning for developers in New South Wales.
McCullough Roberston Lawyers Partner Kate Swain said the State Government initiative aimed to address the shortage of suitably zoned and serviced land for industrial purposes.
Ms Swain said it represented a new statewide approach to unlocking supply.
“The Action Plan signals a shift away from the more fragmented, local and region-specific frameworks that have governed industrial lands to date,” she said.
Ms Swain said for developers there was the prospect of clearer classifications and intensification controls which could simplify planning pathways, particularly for projects seeking to expand or modernise existing industrial operations.
She said landowners would also benefit because the plan indicated that once lands were categorised, protections against uses that were incompatible with industrial land uses should improve, especially in the case of state and regionally significant sites.
“Underutilised or isolated industrial sites could be earmarked for alternative employment or, in limited circumstances, residential uses.”
Ms Swain said the Action Plan emphasised coordinated infrastructure investment, promising better transport, freight, and utilities servicing in prioritised industrial areas.
“This is expected to provide greater certainty to the market and facilitate more cost-effective development, ultimately helping to keep downward pressure on the cost of goods and on the materials needed for new housing construction.”
She said it was hoped that the Action Plan would go some way to ensuring that industrial developments were not proposed in inappropriate locations, as the supply of more suitable industrial lands across the State increased.
Ms Swain said in 2024 industrial-related sectors contributed approximately $174 billion in gross value to the NSW economy.
She said industrial lands, ranging from depots and warehouses to factories and distribution centres, were considered crucial for delivering construction materials, generating jobs, and facilitating a stable supply chain.
“The Action Plan is designed to protect, intensify, and better manage these strategic sites.”
Learn more about the NSW Industrial Lands Action Plan in McCullough Roberston Lawyers full Alert.
