Setting out the blueprint to support future growth

City of Parramatta Council has laid out its plans to support the massive growth expected across Sydney’s Central City over the coming decades, including a blueprint for future housing and community facilities.

Council’s recently-endorsed Local Housing Strategy and Community Infrastructure Strategy provide a strategic approach to planning for a growing population in the Local Government Area.

“The number of people living in Parramatta is on track to double over the next 20 years, and Council wants to make sure we have a clear path to accommodate this growth,” City of Parramatta Lord Mayor Cr Bob Dwyer said.

“These strategies are critical to ensuring that our burgeoning City is supported by local and regional infrastructure – whether it be transport links, libraries, halls, parks or sporting fields – to meet the needs of our growing community.”

The Local Housing Strategy outlines where and when future housing growth will occur within the City of Parramatta, with a focus on those precincts that have already been identified as key growth areas. Council is on track to exceed its housing target, with 87,900 dwellings to be delivered by 2036, and has identified capacity for a further 46,000 dwellings beyond 2036.

Under the Strategy, Council will encourage a greater mix of housing types – including medium-density, low-rise buildings such as terraces and townhouses – while protecting the character of low-density suburbs from further development. It also sets out the need to ensure new housing growth is supported by infrastructure.

The Community Infrastructure Strategy outlines the requirement for more local indoor and outdoor facilities to support Parramatta’s projected population to 2041.

It has identified the need for an extra 14,000 square metres of library space across new and existing sites; an extra 25,000 square metres of multipurpose community space; 30 new multipurpose indoor sport and recreation courts, as well as more local and district play spaces, sports fields, and other local infrastructure.

“The key to any growth in a great City such as Parramatta is to make sure it is supported by the right infrastructure,” Cr Dwyer said.

Council welcomes the NSW Government’s investment in major transport projects such as Parramatta Light Rail and Metro West, both of which are critical to Parramatta’s future.

Council will continue to advocate for a range of other State infrastructure, including schools, universities, social services, health and cultural facilities needed to support a rapidly-growing community, as well as a commitment to Stage 2 of Parramatta Light Rail and an additional Metro West station at Camellia.

“In our submission to the NSW Government on Metro West, we’ve made it clear that it would be a missed opportunity to not have a station at Camellia – or, at the very least, provision for a future station,” Cr Dwyer said.

“Parramatta and its people need to be well-connected, otherwise Sydney’s growth will be stunted and our community will be worse off. If Western Sydney doesn’t get the roads, rail and other infrastructure it needs now, it will have serious consequences for the future of Sydney as a whole.”