sydney-city-centre-review-of-environmental-factors

Local and regional economy
The study area forms part of one of Australia’s main economic hubs. In 2011–2012
the city generated $100 billion (or seven per cent) of the national economy (City of
Sydney, 2012). A large proportion of this was generated from tourism and visitors.
The City of Sydney LGA contains approximately 21,500 registered businesses that
principally focus on providing professional and business services, retail and personal
services, food and drink outlets, creative industries and financial services (City of
Sydney, 2013). All these types of business are present in the study area; however
each precinct has its own distinct economic characteristics as described throughout
this section.
Community values
Community values are those socioeconomic aspects that people hold important to
their quality of life and wellbeing. The study area’s community comprises a mixture of
residents, employees and visitors (eg tourists, shoppers, event attendees, and
others). Whilst each group has its own values they can be generally summarised as
follows:
Amenity, and the study area’s importance as ‘global city’ and Australia’s oldest
city
Enjoyment, and the ability to use the study area’s built and natural resources
Functionality and access, in particular to a wide-range of services within a small
area
Mobility, with the capacity to freely and safely move around the city
Public transport reliability and efficiency, with regards to trips into, out of, and
across the city
Open spaces, as they bring amenity and recreational value to the city as well
as providing needed areas for major events
Civic and corporate function, as the study area provides a centre for
governmental and corporate activity.
6.4.3 Potential impacts
This section describes the proposal’s potential socioeconomic impacts. The initial
descriptive overview is followed by a location-specific assessment summary.
Socioeconomic impacts during construction
Population and demographics – construction impacts
The proposal would generate a number of jobs over its one-year construction period.
The workforce would be likely sourced from the local labour market requiring a
mixture of labourers, drivers, site workers, engineers and site managers. The
proposal would cost approximately $30 million to implement. The entire investment
would be made by the NSW Government and it would benefit the local economy due
to the planned procurement of local services and materials.
Due to its relatively small size, the proposal would have no impact on the population,
growth or demographics of the study area, LGA or Greater Sydney during its
construction. Indirectly however, temporary minor travel delays and increased
congestion would make the city less accessible during the construction period. This
is discussed in more detail in section 6.1.
Sydney City Centre Capacity Improvement 283
Review of Environmental Factors