Parramatta residents, your neighbourhood is getting a glow-up. The draft plans to transform the Western Sydney CBD into a world-class cultural and creative hub by 2050 have been revealed, and they’re pretty darn impressive. Comprising six key city-shaping initiatives, the 25-year vision has been described by the City of Parramatta Lord Mayor Cr Pierre Esber as “Council’s pitch to secure Parramatta’s position on the world stage.”
The first area of focus for Parramatta 2050 is in the jobs department. There's the aim of turning Parramatta into “Western Sydney’s job engine”, with a target of 150,000 additional jobs between now and 2050. As part of this initiative, the City of Parramatta is inviting individuals and businesses to “start their story” in the city.
The second key city-shaping initiative centres on creativity, with the aim of transforming Parramatta into “an epicentre of creativity”. The creativity focus will build on the reimagined Riverside Theatres and the soon-to-open Powerhouse Parramatta, with a new contemporary art gallery and additional live music venues in the works to help boost the city’s night-time economy.
“We want to see Parramatta recognised internationally as a place where people gather to share their ideas and collaborate, create firsts and where great ideas can build momentum,” explains Mayor Esber.
Third on the list is a focus on Parramatta’s entertainment offering, with a multi-purpose indoor arena set to make Parramatta a key host for festivals, sporting events and other large-scale entertainment events.
Parramatta 2050 also aims to position the city as a world leader in First Nations partnerships, and utilise its location on the Parramatta River to become an “unrivalled River City with a continuous green corridor between Lake Parramatta and Sydney Olympic Park.”
Plans for a new university campus at Westmead hope to position Parramatta as the most globally connected university city in the nation.
These are some lofty aims, but the plan is looking pretty comprehensive – with five key districts set to focus on different city-shaping objectives and a new body, Parramatta International, to work with government agencies and other investors to support the project.
The proposed zones in the Parramatta 2050 plan include: a Health and Innovation District (in Westmead and North Parramatta); a Headquarters District in the CBD (set to play host to some of global businesses and key government departments); a Model City District (around Camellia and Rosehill) modelling green infrastructure and a regenerative approach to urban living; a Future Jobs District in Silverwater (a hub for new industries); and a Celebration District at Sydney Olympic Park.
These plans form part of a wider vision for the Western Sydney region, with plans for a huge new CBD connected to the new Western Sydney Airport set to bring an additional 10,000 homes to the area, and the Sydney Metro West set to connect Sydney’s west to the CBD via a super-fast driverless train system by 2032.
The Parramatta 2050 document will be on exhibition for public comment until Friday, July 19 – you can view the plans and have your say over here.
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