Big rise in NSW population means Strathfield will grow over 50 per cent

Strathfield will have a population of 56,550 by 2031, according to the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure in a new report on Sydney’s growth.

That would mean an increase of 52 per cent, with a 58 per cent rise in children under 15, and a 93 per cent rise in those over 65.

The increased figures, says the report, will mainly come from overseas migration and underscores the need for new planning regulations allowing for growth.

Urban Taskforce chief executive Chris Johnson is quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald as saying Sydney would need an additional 100,000 more homes than had been planned for over the next 20 years.

The State Government’s planning laws, which allow local communities to set parameters for planning but have less of a voice in individual projects, have come under attack as being anti democracy.

Strathfield Council has opposed the changes, and is writing to the Planning Minister expressing its concerns.

The new figures will be used to justify the changes.

The Planning Department’s acting Deputy Director General Andrew Jackson told the Herald the figures showed the importance of the strategic focus in the new planning system.