2018- a great year for a boomtown

2018 - A great year for a boomtown

By Liverpool Mayor Wendy Waller

This year was the year Liverpool led a shifting of Sydney’s axis to the west.

There’s a boomtown feel about Liverpool and it is justified.

Many people in our great community tell me in person that they are optimistic about the changes we are going through. Changes that in many ways are only just beginning.

I put this optimism down to a few key events this year.

The first sod was turned at the Badgerys Creek site of Western Sydney Airport in September and we have released our vision for the Aerotropolis – the dynamic zone of education advancement and employment around the future international airport.

The way we see the Aerotropolis is right up there with what the Premier and NSW Government are envisioning.  So we are on the front foot and we know best what is right for our community.

A young student with big dreams can get everything they need in their own backyard. A quality education, whether it be at the future STEM high school or one of our three universities setting down roots – and WSU officially opened its CBD campus this year. Smart jobs beckon in the Aerotropolis.

We launched a very successful competition for local primary school students to build the Aerotropolis in Minecraft. Their work was inspiring and we’re going bigger and better next year, so watch this space.

But there are also big things happening in our CBD. This year we undertook the most significant change to the city centre in our long history.

We have rezoned 25 hectares to allow a modern, vibrant, 18-hour economy to flourish.

This change in the heart of Liverpool will encourage new businesses and double the resident population in the CBD. We are well on the way to becoming Sydney’s Third CBD.

We can do that because of our great bones. Robert Hoddle laid out the street grid at the turn of the 19th century before he designed the city of Melbourne.

This forward planning has paved the way for our future as a dynamic, walkable, interesting and vibrant city.

So we have history, but we also have a heart.

That was no more evident than in autumn when we had a really close call.

On 14 April, wild winds swept the fire across the Georges River and it quickly spread to Holsworthy, where it burnt through almost 4000 hectares of bushland and threatened 888 homes.

Thanks to the hard work of the emergency services, only five homes were damaged and none were lost.

We thanked these brave people with a free community day at Casula Powerhouse and Arts Centre and it was a day of celebration attended by thousands. The Liverpool spirit shone through and it was a day to be proud of.

There were many other achievements throughout the year.

We delivered an operating surplus for the 2017/18 year, a $2.9 million turnaround on the previous year and we have a record $192 million earmarked for capital works spending.

In June, the hard work of the Liverpool Innovation Precinct paid off in the form of a $740 million commitment from the NSW Government to transform Liverpool Hospital into the largest standalone facility in Australia by 2026 and a true world leader.

We gained White Ribbon accreditation in August. I am really proud of this. We have worked hard to stop violence against women and have started a program of staff training and adopting a domestic violence leave policy.

We commemorated the 100 year anniversary of Armistice Day with Liverpool Remembers, a modern suite of activites that included state-of-the-art projections of diggers and their families on buildings in the CBD, a re-dedication of Freedom of Entry to the Engineering Corps and a fun day of celebration that gave a nod to another era. We are a peaceful city that remembers its past.

Onto next year. We’re a rapidly changing city and you are the most important part of that change.

We are undertaking a Local Environmental Plan review of the controls that guide planning decisions made across the Local Government Area.

We can’t do it without you. Council will engage with the local community to make sure its voice is heard. Keep an eye out on our website.

In the meantime, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year. Hope to see you at our fabulous Light Up The Lake celebrations at Grand Flaneur Beach on New Year’s Eve.