Over the last 15 years, community title has come increasingly into use in NSW as a mechanism for ensuring public space in new residential developments. This space may be for conservation, recreational or other purposes for residents of and visitors to the local areas surrounding new developments. Provision of such space is frequently made a condition of developments application approvals.
In recent years, however, several major issues in this form of title have become apparent and now need urgent regulatory attention. Such regulatory reform needs to be based on good information as to the causes and consequences of the issues arising if they are to be addressed adequately. Unfortunately, very little information is currently available and research needs to be conducted urgently if the new regulations are to hit their targets and not create future problems.
No information regarding Community title is yet available on the extent which is used in practice and has become a feature of development application proposals. There is thus no base for looking systematically and in detail at how community title works in practice and how it varies between types of development and development context and issues arising. The research conducted in this project will enable the Urban Development Institute of Australia (NSW) to have the database needed for effective input to current debates about the issues and their resolution.
Common Ground: The Costs and Provision of Community Infrastructure in Community Title Schemes in NSW A study by the City Futures Research Centre at the University of New South Wales on behalf of the Urban Development Institute of Australia NSW
‘Common Ground: UDIA NSW Community Title Principles' - 15 recommendations to developers working with community title developments - based on the findings of this research.
