Greater Newcastle Metropolitan Plan

In 2018, the first-ever Metropolitan Plan for Greater Newcastle was endorsed, the first for a non-capital city in Australia. The Metropolitan Plan provided a vision of Greater Newcastle as:

• Dynamic and entrepreneurial, with a globally competitive economy and the excitement of the inner city and green suburban communities.
• Offering great lifestyles minutes from beaches or bushland, the airport or universities, and from the port to the lake.
• A national leader in the new economy, with smarter cities and carbon neutral initiatives, and with collaborative governance that makes it a model to others in creating and adapting to change.

As emphasised in the vision statement, a key theme of the metropolitan plan was the embrace of collaborative governance arrangements. All stakeholders collectively agreed that metropolitan cities succeed and perform best when all tiers of government collaborate and work together with business, industry and the community to deliver a shared vision for their city.

The Metro Plan outlined four key outcomes for Greater Newcastle:

• Outcome 1: Create a workforce skilled and ready for the new economy
• Outcome 2: Enhance environment, amenity and resilience for quality of life
• Outcome 3: Deliver housing close to jobs and services
• Outcome 4: Improve connections to jobs, services and recreation

A number of the strategies included in Outcome 1 and Outcome 4 were instrumental in the development of the City of Newcastle’s Economic Development Strategy:

• Strategy 1: Reinforce the revitalisation of Newcastle city centre and expand transformation along the waterside
• Strategy 2: Grow the airport and aerospace defence precinct at Williamtown
• Strategy 3: Increase domestic and global trade capabilities at Newcastle Port
• Strategy 4: Grow health precincts and connect the health network
• Strategy 5: Expand education and innovation clusters
• Strategy 6: Promote tourism, major events and sporting teams on the national and international stage
• Strategy 7: Respond to the changing land use needs of the new economy
• Strategy 8: Address changing retail consumer demand
• Strategy 9: Plan for jobs closer to homes in the metro frame
• Strategy 21: Prepare for technology enhanced mobility changes that improve connectivity
• Strategy 22: Create higher speed connections to Sydney to encourage new employment opportunities
• Strategy 23: Protect major freight corridors

The implementation of these strategies is discussed in detail in the City of Newcastle’s Economic Development Strategy. The full Greater Newcastle Metropolitan Plan 2036 can be found on the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment’s Department of Planning, Industry and Environment’s website.