Ours is a community which boasts one of the most multicultural communities in Australia (188 cultures); fast growing population that as a local government area will surpass the size of Tasmania by 2037; and economic activity measured by Gross Regional Product exceeding $26B making it larger than 78 (out of 218) countries in the world.
Designing and delivering a transformative CBD is complex and requires multidisciplinary framework to deliver connectivity, safety, environmental sustainable, educational, accommodation, entertainment and commercial needs that incorporate the aspirations and needs of future generations.
Practical planning must be sensitively balanced incorporating Dharug culture and protecting local historically significant buildings.
As locals we see, live and deal with the challenges and real issues confronting us and that is why a community-lead revitalization of our CBD is needed and not one that is imposed on us.
Designing a new CBD is more than creating artistic imagery with a selling pitch that espousesd large numbers such as construction costs of $2B that will generate 4,500 jobs and $1B local economic growth.
These figures sound great but are unaudited and may not reflect the real needs and aspirations of our community.
Soon, councillors will be presented amendments to the Blacktown Development Control Plan (BDCP) which set out the future requirements for parking, traffic, street planning, potential buildings and environmental considerations.
Three precinct approach
The draft BDCP has created three sub-precincts within the one Blacktown CBD. The first precinct is the Westpoint shopping precinct. The second is referred to as the Blacktown Quarter comprising the recent controversial sale of council land to Walker Corporation, Blacktown Workers Club and Colo Lane car park. The third precinct is the remaining CBD which is left to its own slow decaying orbit of discount shops and deteriorating buildings.
Council should bring together a cohesive BDCP strategy, to provide the impetus where developments will be assessed against delivering our masterplan objective.
The significance of the BDCP document cannot be understated as courts could be settling disputes between developers and council regarding scale, scope and parking requirements as specified in the plan.
The BDCP is a futuristic vision where future generations will be living in a CBD that we designed. Will future generations be happy with what we have planned in the sense of meeting their aspirations; or did the BDCP create lacklustre developments or questionable environments that no one wants to visit because our it represented some vague, ill-considered document?
The draft BDCP focuses on the second precinct (the Blacktown Quarter) and ignores the rest; with radical changes to road networks and massive reductions to parking requirements.
How would a court interpret a dispute between council (on behalf of the community) and a developer to deliver adequate parking spaces when the proposed BDCP identifies the minimum requirement to be zero?
Public consultation on BDCP took place at the same time as the proposed controversial council rate increase. There was no council-led open community discussion.
Walker Corporation undertook ‘a select the box’ 4-minute online survey, conducted some pop-up stalls, and encouraged feedback via the chance to win vouchers or food giveaways.
Council undertook limited participation sessions where participants were forced to sign confidentiality agreements, or you could not participate.
Artist impressions and montages are presented to entice acceptance, but such images rarely reflect what is built.
In developing a CBD to match the aspirations of tomorrow, we need to consider a nighttime economic strategy; safety planning; enabling technology incorporating a smart city framework; identifying how heritage significant buildings can be incorporated into a modern CBD; where and how people will live; traffic and parking strategies.
Create opportunities
We need a community-driven, game-changing transformative rethink of Blacktown CBD to meet and create future opportunities.
This is why we need insightful consultation and community-led planning.
Blacktown Council has unfortunately rejected a collaborative and joint exercise approach with the State Government to design a city of the future in a similar manner as was undertaken with the new Bradfield City Centre Master Plan, or the Barangaroo development precinct strategy.
The new Blacktown CBD must be designed so it is highly sustainable and incorporates an inclusive society with well thought-out town square, green corridors, our Dharug culture, water recycling initiatives and renewable energy solutions.
We need traffic and parking studies and holistic reports considering all elements to deliver a 22nd century metropolis.
I was proud, as Mayor (2014-19), to lead Blacktown Council to be the first council in Australia to incorporate smart pole electric car recharging (2017) and introducing free CBD Wi-Fi access (2016); but we now need to consider embedding world-class digital infrastructure to support autonomous transport, smart buildings, and seamless connectivity.
We are not just building another western Sydney suburban town, we are creating a dynamic environment that will support a liveable, healthy, vibrant and inclusive city supported by jobs, innovation, and entertainment for generations to come.
We have a once-in-a-century opportunity to rebuild a city, leveraging world-class technology, sustainable urban design within the framework of accessibility regardless of your health, wealth or where you are from.
Stephen Bali is State Member for Blacktown and Parliamentary Secretary for Planning and Public Spaces. Have your say at Blacktown News Facebook page.
