Creating cities-based regions

I was pleased to hear Rob Stokes promote his vision of ‘cities-based regions’ at a planning webinar run by SGS Economics & Planning this week.  Rob served over 16 years in the NSW Government, including variously as Minister for Planning, Cities, Infrastructure, Transport, Education, Environment and Heritage.  In the webinar, Rob said his vision for the future of Australia is a series of islands of urban development along rail corridors out from our capital cities.

In our view, Australians should be encouraged to live in existing regional centres connected by fast rail services, especially in the high speed rail corridor Brisbane-Sydney-Melbourne.  We also believe new urban centres should be created in the corridors, particularly within about 200km of a capital city. 

Our thinking is similar to Rob’s.  Australia’s urban settlement pattern must flow as a series of ‘towns’ out from our capital cities.  Each ‘town’ would be a distinct urban area for about 100,000 people, with a main town centre and 3-4 suburban centres around it. 

But to do it, you have to run fast regional commuter services from a capital city into the regional ‘town centre’.  Where possible, we propose using the high speed line to get into the regional area and then allow trains to cross over to the existing track so they can stop at stations within new and existing regional centres.  This was the approach adopted to grow the Kent economy, which justified the investment in HS1 in the UK.

So, for example, let’s look at the Sydney-Newcastle corridor.  We have proposed that a high speed rail line should use a tunnel from Epping to the Hawkesbury River and then proceed at ground level through a station near Tuggerah (called Central Cost) and on into Newcastle.  The line would have interconnections with the existing line at the Hawkesbury River, at the Central Coast station and into Newcastle through Cockle Creek. 

The HS1 example shows that regional commuter services must provide direct services into the town centres.  We propose that new regional commuter services should run to Gosford (saving 15 minutes from Epping), to Newcastle via Lake Macquarie (saving 30 minutes from Epping), and express to Newcastle (saving at 50 minutes from Epping), each using one of the three interconnections to the existing line.

This would open the Central Coast and Lake Macquarie for increased urban development.  The topography of the corridor severely limits the opportunity for growth until about Woy Woy.  But after Gosford it opens the opportunity for at least one, if not several, major new urban centres in the northern half of the corridor.

This is the only sensible way to build the line.  It helps to relieve the housing pressure in Sydney for several decades.  The area will become very popular, as it is ideal for a laid-back Australian lifestyle.  Value capture from the increased development will make a significant contribution to ameliorate the heavy cost of the high speed line. 

But it will take vision and planning.  Done well, this region could become one of the most prosperous areas of Australia.