Drivers for change

1.5 Drivers for change

Housing Affordability

Across Greater Sydney there are increasingly fewer areas where housing is affordable, which is challenging for many households. At present, the Campsie Town Centre provides more affordable housing compared to many of the surrounding suburbs. This relative affordability of Campsie has enabled many lower income households to live in the centre - nearly a third of Campsie households make less than $1,000 a week (< $51,999 per year).

Future growth in Campsie has implications for housing affordability. While urban renewal has many benefits, this process can impact housing cost through the replacement of older housing with newer, more expensive housing stock. To help mitigate the impacts of rising housing prices on Campsie’s lower income households, Council has committed to delivering affordable housing in Campsie.

The Master Planning process will test the viability of delivering affordable housing in Campsie. Increasing affordable housing supply in the study areas is a key consideration for the master plan.

An evolving and growing population

It is important to create capacity for new housing in the right locations. The State Government has identified strategic centres receiving investment in mass transit as ideal places for housing growth. As a strategic centre receiving a Metro Station, Campsie has an important role to play in housing delivery.

Accordingly, CBCity’s Housing Strategy has identified a need for 6,360 new homes, including 5,600 new homes in the Campsie core alongside 760 new homes the node between Canterbury Road and Beamish Street. This housing growth is required to accommodate CBCity’s growing population.

New housing growth needs to cater to a range of different household types. This Master Plan includes initiatives to ensure housing diversity and deliver homes suitable for both large households (couples with children and group households) and smaller households (couples with no children, single parents, single people).

Health, well-being and lifestyle economy

Council’s Employment Strategy sets a jobs target of 7,500 total jobs for the Campsie Town Centre by 2036. To meet this target, approximately 2,700 additional jobs will be needed, requiring an additional 81,890 sqm of suitable floor space.

Central to achieving this job target will be delivering CBCity’s Eastern Lifestyle and Medical Precinct. As outlined in Council’s Local Strategic Planning Statement, The Eastern Lifestyle and Medical Precinct will provide high quality public areas and civic, community and employment opportunities for people and businesses in the east of the CBCity. Canterbury Hospital will act as the anchor of this precinct by supporting the clustering of medical uses. This will require ongoing investment by State Government into the expansion and improvement of Canterbury Hospital including health and related services and facilities.

This Master Plan ensures Campsie can support a Lifestyle and Medical Precinct by planning for sufficient floor space capacity and ensuring infrastructure is provided to attract workers in the health sector and retail and personal services jobs. To successfully support the planned jobs growth in the centre, there will also be a focus on creating active streets and facilitating a strong nighttime economy.

A lifestyle-focused centre also requires investment in civic, community and cultural infrastructure. The Campsie Civic Precinct will become a hub of new and consolidated facilities that support residents and workers, as well as visitors from Greater Sydney and beyond.

Demand for sustainability and resilience

Climate change is a serious and defining environmental challenge. The largest contributor to climate change is the burning of fossil fuels, which creates greenhouse gases. Under the status quo, greenhouse gas emissions are predicted to increase in the Campsie Town Centre by 40%. The impacts of climate change include hotter and more extreme weather events and infrastructure failure. All of which pose significant risks to people, property, the environment, and the economy.

It is imperative that Council plays a role in reducing the adverse impacts of climate change through new developments and public domain upgrades. This Master Plan includes initiatives to tackle climate change and its effects. New development will be required to meet energy and water targets, while urban greening will be implemented in the public domain. These initiatives will help cool Campsie and help reduce greenhouse emissions. Moving better

Campsie will experience significant improvements in the frequency, quality, and capacity of its public transport network with the replacement of the current heavy rail service along the T3 Bankstown Line with Sydney Metro services. The planned Sydney Metro line will reduce travel times between Campsie Town Centre, Bankstown City Centre and Sydney CBD. Additionally, The Metro will provide new connections to hubs such as Barangaroo, North Sydney, Chatswood and Macquarie Park. Travel times between Campsie to Central Station will be reduced to 18 minutes, and services will run every 4 minutes during peak hours.

Improved transport options will strengthen economic links between Campsie and the Eastern Economic Corridor (which extends from Macquarie Park to Sydney Airport, and contains close to one-third of Greater Sydney’s jobs) and attract workers to the centre. Improving Campsie’s connectivity will also reduce car dependency and provide opportunities for transport orientated development. Housing and jobs will primarily be concentrated around Campsie Metro Station to promote walking, cycling and public transport usage.

Improvements to the local and regional road network will contribute to an enhanced and traffic calmed Beamish Street which can prioritise pedestrians and public transport.

Sydney South West Metro Line

The Sydney Metro Network as planned (2021)