Planning in New South Wales is at a pivotal moment. The new Sydney Plan is refocusing development toward established areas, and the Housing Delivery Authority is driving transit-oriented development across the state. The result will be a fundamental shift in how people move through, and live in, our cities.

Our NSW team brings together town planning and transport engineering expertise, supported by Ratio’s full capability across urban design, landscape architecture, waste management and civil engineering. As locals with deep experience across metropolitan Sydney and regional NSW, we understand the communities, the corridors and the planning systems that shape outcomes here.

Ian Cady, Director: Planning

Ian has over 30 years of experience as a town planner, delivering complex urban renewal and precinct master planning projects across both the public and private sectors. He leads Ratio’s Sydney based team with strong relationships across industry and government in NSW.

Q: Over your 30 years in the industry, what have been the most significant changes you’ve witnessed, and what excites you about where planning is heading?

One thing that really stands out is how communities’ initial opposition to significant urban renewal evolves over time. These processes usually take 15 to 20 years to roll out, and people often don’t realise that. When the first couple of buildings go in, people can be very confronted – but when you ask them about it 10 years later, they think “oh yeah, that’s fine” and they are often surprised it was ever contentious. The new Sydney Plan refocuses housing growth toward established areas where spare infrastructure capacity already exists, and a lot of this activity is flowing through projects declared State Significant by the Housing Delivery Authority around transit centres – which is exactly where well-planned, connected communities can thrive.

Q: With extensive experience in urban renewal, what makes a successful project?

You need a sound contributions framework to match community facilities and infrastructure to the final built outcome. That is what has made areas like Green Square and Pyrmont work so well — increasing the permitted density brought with it increased developer contributions, and the populations necessary to support new facilities like aquatic centres, primary schools and shopping centres that simply would not have been viable if the density had been locked in at the start of the process.

Q: What does “planning for future communities, not just current preferences” look like in practice?

In the planning of Green Square it was assumed that young couples would leave the area when they had kids – yet at the last census more than 10% of the population was under 19 years old, and a primary school has recently opened. It’s a good reminder that you cannot accurately predict the needs and preferences of the community who will live somewhere in 10 or 20 years. Planning frameworks need to be inherently flexible, allowing precincts to evolve over the renewal timeframe rather than being locked into the thinking of the day.

Richard Seaward, Associate: Planning

With over 10 years of experience, Richard has worked in government and private practice across the UK and Australia. He brings extensive experience in education and healthcare planning, mixed-use and residential development, and precinct master planning across NSW. Richard works collaboratively to deliver the best outcomes for clients and communities.

Q: You’ve said planning requires being “a jack of all trades and a master of planning.” What skills beyond planning expertise do you draw on most?

It’s the soft skills: negotiation, communication, persuasion. You learn the legislation, you learn the controls, you learn the system. But being a good planner is knowing when and how to apply those skills. It’s about articulating your position, advocating for your client, and building trust with both council and community. Clients need to know you’re in their corner, and councils need to know you’re preparing documentation that’s transparent and thorough.

Q: How has working across both government and private practice shaped your approach to planning in NSW?

Working on both sides means I understand the administration: internal referrals, registration processes, timeframes, and the competing pressures that case officers face. From private practice, you’re aware of clients’ time constraints and commercial pressures. Understanding both sides means you can manage expectations and find pathways that work for everyone.

Q: What makes planning for educational facilities different?

Education projects often amplify planning issues like heritage, traffic and noise. Schools in inner Sydney often include heritage items and increasing student numbers brings its own traffic and noise considerations. You have to work through those amplified issues while still delivering the facilities the community needs. It’s a challenging but rewarding balance.

Jack Lyons, Associate: Planning

Jack brings extensive experience across statutory and strategic planning projects, including residential, commercial, mixed-use and industrial development. Now based in our Sydney office, he works on projects across both NSW and Victoria. He’s known for his collaborative approach and for driving efficient outcomes on complex development applications.

Q: You work across a range of project types. How do you approach each new project type?

Each project is faced with different planning controls, policies and authorities. The minute you start in planning, you need to be able to adapt. For me, it’s about familiarising yourself as early as possible with the client’s vision and the key controls and policies. Once you have that, you can map out a clear strategy.

Q: You’re known for bringing positivity and collaborative energy. How does that translate into better outcomes?

So much of what we deal with in town planning is in the grey. There are so many things we’re debating and negotiating, and if you can be positive and proactive, people are much more likely to be receptive. By bringing positive energy, you build better relationships and can more easily draw on expertise across disciplines. I have found that bringing positivity and being collaborative – with councils, clients, and within the team – always works toward better outcomes. At the end of the day, people just want to know that you care.

Q: What’s been most interesting about working across different planning jurisdictions, including NSW?

While terminology and processes may look very different between jurisdictions, there are many similarities. Voluntary planning agreements in NSW function similarly to Section 173 agreements in Victoria, used for similar outcomes like affordable housing or public realm upgrades. Meanwhile, the NSW ‘Housing Pattern Book’ of high-quality designs eligible for fast-tracked planning approval presents and functions similarly to the Victorian ‘Future Homes’ program. As planning continues to evolve in both states, the systems are slowly becoming more parallel. Fundamentally, when you’re talking about logic and approach, there’s a lot of crossover, and that makes adapting between jurisdictions much easier than it appears on the surface.

Hannah Alsop, Associate: Transport

Hannah brings 10 years of transport engineering and planning experience across Australia and the UK. She works across a broad range of project types, from movement and place to residential and retail, and across locations from metropolitan Sydney to the South Coast and Byron Bay. Her work helps clients navigate complex transport challenges across NSW.

Q: What changes in transport planning have impressed you most, and what’s next on the horizon?

The car parking reforms happening right now across Australia are really positive as are the increased importance of transit-oriented developments. Both of these will help drive public transport usage, which ideally leads to more funding, better frequencies and reliability, gradually reducing our reliance on private cars.

What’s exciting is the movement and place work that’s becoming a much bigger part of transport planning. It’s about prioritising urban design and active travel modes making people feel like somewhere is a place to be. I hope it continues to be central to how we approach transport planning over the next five to ten years.

Q: How does your transport planning approach adapt between metropolitan Sydney and regional NSW?

In regional areas, car parking remains more important, and we place less emphasis on public transport because it’s simply not as available. Byron Bay is quite forward-thinking with positive controls around car share and reduced parking provision, whereas the South Coast still prioritises car spaces, however there are positive changes with the large scale rezoning of Shellharbour and the surrounding areas. We will hopefully see some positive changes as these precincts start to be delivered.

In Sydney, it’s very different. It comes down to proximity to the metro network, express bus routes and nearby services, factors you just don’t consider in the same way in regional areas. I really enjoy that variety.

Q: How do you balance technical complexity with clear communication when working with clients?

I simplify as much as possible. Clients don’t always need to know every technical detail, but they always appreciate clear advice and instruction. When I send updates, I write simply and provide the clause reference so if they want the detail, it’s there, but they get the headline first. It’s about the catch-all: this works, this doesn’t, these are the improvements needed.