Background

Site Description

This Planning Proposal applies to the entire Bankstown City Centre as shown in the dashed black outline in Figure 2 below.

Figure 2: Bankstown City Centre Framework Map (Source: Master Plan, p26)

The Bankstown City Centre as defined in this Planning Proposal is bound by Stacey Street to the east, Hume Highway to the north, Avon Street, Cairds Avenue, Gordon Street, Winspear Avenue and Oxford Avenue to the west, and Chertsey Avenue and Dellwood Street to the south. The property at 53 De Witt Street, Bankstown is included in this Planning Proposal despite sitting outside of the Bankstown City Centre (refer to Part 2 below).

The total area encompassed by this Planning Proposal is approximately 220ha.

Site Context

The Bankstown City Centre is the primary urban centre of the Canterbury Bankstown LGA. It is recognised as a strategic centre and health and education precinct by the Greater Sydney Region Plan, and as a result has seen significant institutional and infrastructure investment in recent years.

Bankstown is located 22km southwest of the Sydney CBD and is currently accessible via the T3 train line, numerous bus services and arterial roads including Stacey Street, Canterbury Road and Hume Highway. The centre currently contains a mix of retail, hospitality, services and housing as well as significant civic spaces such as the Bankstown Library and Knowledge Centre, local courthouse and Bankstown Arts Centre.

The centre today is culturally and linguistically diverse with over half the community born overseas. This blend of cultures has shaped Bankstown into a distinctive and multicultural centre, evidenced by the diverse range of businesses in the centre and most strongly in Saigon Place, one of Greater Sydney’s most important Vietnamese neighbourhoods. The centre contains several larger commercial anchors alongside smaller businesses, including Bankstown Central Shopping Centre, Bankstown Sports Club, and Canterbury Bankstown Council’s corporate offices. The centre also contains Bankstown TAFE, a significant educational institution.

Bankstown City Centre is located with access to Bankstown Airport which is located 3km to the west, as well as the road, rail and freight network, Moorebank intermodal terminal and the Liverpool CBD and health and education precinct located 9km to the west. The centre has an important commercial role in the context of the surrounding employment and industrial lands in Chullora and Milperra.

Future Context

The Bankstown City Centre is on the cusp of transformation, with significant and unprecedented investment in committed and planned infrastructure. This includes the new Western Sydney University Campus, the construction of Sydney Metro City and Southwest services and a committed $1.3 billion investment in a new public hospital likely to be within or near the Bankstown CBD. In addition, the NSW Government has been progressively upgrading Stacey Street, an important north-south arterial for Greater Sydney, whilst the private sector has committed to several large scale developments in and around Bankstown City Centre. These opportunities will strengthen Bankstown’s role as an employment centre and destination.

This Planning Proposal is a growth strategy that leverages the opportunities provided by unprecedented investment in infrastructure and services and sets the foundations for revised planning controls to deliver on the established vision for Bankstown.

This Planning Proposal implements the Master Plan which has been developed in consultation and collaboration with community groups, land owners, student and worker focus groups, industry engagement, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups and government agencies. The Master Plan was exhibited for 11 weeks between March and June 2021. Council has considered the submissions received during public exhibition and has reflected revisions to the Master Plan in this Planning Proposal accordingly.

This Planning Proposal has been informed by the following supporting studies and information:

Appendix D Bankstown City Centre Master Plan (Adopted version) Appendix E Bankstown City Centre Master Plan Phase 1 Report Appendix H Bankstown City Centre and Campsie Town Centre Economic And Land Use Study (SGS) Appendix I Bankstown Airspace Constraints Report (Rehbein) Appendix J Student and Worker Needs Study (Ethos Urban) Appendix K Off-Street Parking and Servicing/Loading Study (GTA Consultants) Appendix L Bankstown City Centre and Campsie Town Centre Sustainability Study Phase 2 and 3 (Flux) Appendix M Landscape Controls (Oculus) Appendix N Tall Buildings Study (Bates Smart) Appendix O Infrastructure Funding Study (GLN Planning) Appendix P Aboriginal and Cultural Heritage Study (AMBS Ecology and Heritage) Appendix Q Urban Tree Canopy Master Plan (Oculus) Appendix S Bankstown Master Plan Site-specific Review Joint Panel Report (LFA and More Urban) Appendix T Bankstown City Centre Flood Planning Assessment (Stantec) Appendix U Preliminary Site Investigation Reports (Douglas Partners)