1.2 The Centre

Bankstown City Centre is Canterbury Bankstown’s primary urban centre, currently undergoing a period of unprecedented infrastructure and institutional investment. As a Strategic Centre, it is on the cusp of transformation driven by investment in public transport, health infrastructure, higher education and other retail, commercial and entertainment facilities .

Bankstown is located on the land of the Gwegal, Bidjigal and Dharug people. The area where the Bankstown centre stands today has provided water, food and culturally significant meeting places for over 60,000 years.

Modern Bankstown remains an important part of a rapidly evolving Sydney. It is recognised as a Strategic Centre and Health and Education Precinct in the Greater Sydney Region Plan. Bankstown’s transformation is in part being driven by a rapidly growing resident, student and worker population, city shaping investments in a future university, Sydney Metro upgrade of the current railway line and potential public hospital.

Accessible by the T3 train line, numerous bus routes and arterial roads including Stacey Street Canterbury Road and the Hume Highway, Bankstown is located just 22km from Central Sydney. The centre lies on flat land edged by the shallow ridges to the north along the Hume Highway and Stacey Street and a gentle decline to the south towards Salt Pan Creek. Radiating out from one of the busiest rail stations in Sydney, the centre hosts a mix of retail, hospitality, services and housing options as well civic spaces including the Bankstown Library and Knowledge Centre, a local courthouse and Bankstown Arts Centre.

Open spaces are spread across the centre. Pocket parks to higher profile spaces, such as Paul Keating Park in the CBD core and the City Gardens adjacent to Memorial Oval, provide places of respite, exercise, play and socialising.

The face of Bankstown has grown and changed over the years. Today, the centre is a cultural and linguistic mosaic with more than half of the community born overseas. This blend of cultures has shaped Bankstown into the distinctive centre it is today. The people of Bankstown are the custodians of a multicultural and passionate city.

Community identity is showcased in Bankstown’s City Centre – most strongly in Saigon Place offering an authentic pocket of Vietnam in Australia with locally owned shops, eateries and fresh food produce stores. Alongside smaller businesses, the centre contains several large commercial anchors including Bankstown Central Shopping Centre, Bankstown Sports Club, Bankstown TAFE NSW and Bankstown RSL, along with Council’s corporate offices and a sizeable business and worker community. One of Greater Sydney’s premier cricket ovals, Memorial Oval, marks the southern edge of the City Centre core. Bankstown is also the key centre for surrounding, important employment lands, including Bankstown Airport and Chullora.

Most residents within the Bankstown CBD live in apartments. These apartments and walkup units built from the 1960’s onwards offer medium and higher density options close to shops, transport and services. On the outskirts of the core, residential areas offer a mix of single storey homes of Federation or post war style homes, or low scale apartment blocks on large lots.

The Bankstown City Centre Master Plan is a visionary approach to lead growth and increasingly diverse community to celebrate its identity whilst facilitating jobs, housing, student and investment growth. Bold planning will reinforce Bankstown as a strategically important, unique, people-focused destination for everyone.