On 9 and 10 September 2021, the draft Campsie Master Plan was reported to Council’s Local Planning Panel alongside an Early Engagement Outcomes Report. The draft Campsie Master Plan reported to the Local Planning Panel incorporated community submissions received between March and June 2021. The Local Planning Panel recommended that Council undertake further community engagement.

Council is now re-engaging with the community, this gives community members more time to understand the changes made to the draft Master Plan and an opportunity to provide additional feedback.

In line with the Local Planning Panel’s recommendations, Council has engaged an independent community engagement consultancy (WSP) to help guide this community engagement process. WSP will prepare a Community Engagement Outcomes Report that summarises the community feedback received. In addition to the Outcomes Report, Council staff will also be reviewing written submissions received. Community input will be reviewed and elements of the Master reviewed based on the community’s feedback.

A master plan is a long-term plan that provides a road map to guide future growth and change in our centres over the coming decades.

Master plans have an important role in determining the look, feel and function of the urban environment. It guides and covers things like building heights, design, land use zones, new open space and protecting heritage protections. The Campsie Town Centre Master Plan will guide new planning controls that apply to properties in the centre catchment master planning area.

The master plan provides the opportunity to co-locate genuine job-generating development with housing, services, utilities and social infrastructure to support a growing community in Campsie. The master plan will develop planning controls to improve the quality and sustainability of the Centre and create a great place for people to live, work and visit.

Council has a housing target for the whole of the Canterbury-Bankstown Local Government Area that will ensure that our growing community have great places to call home. Based on analysis of current trends in Canterbury-Bankstown the Housing Strategy, a housing target of 50,000 has been set across the whole LGA to 2036. This demand must be met in a planned, controlled way.

The draft master plan provides a proactive approach to planning, helping to prevent ad-hoc development.

The draft Campsie Town Centre Master Plan plans for 5,600 additional homes in the Campsie Town Centre alongside approximately 750 dwellings along Canterbury Road.

These new homes will be supported with good transport services, community facilities, open space and infrastructure. The master plan also establishes actions to ensure diverse, affordable housing types for all households, tenures and demographics.

As the second largest centre in Canterbury-Bankstown, Campsie plays an important economic role in the broader area. The draft master plan seeks to grow the number of jobs in the centre from 4,800 roles to 7,500 by 2036. The jobs will be focused in an expanded business precinct around Campsie Station, and in a new medical precinct around Canterbury Hospital.

If we plan for ‘Business as Usual’, traffic congestion will increase in our centres. The draft master plan is focused on making the centre more attractive for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport and allow residents, workers and student to be less reliant on cars.

There are multiple ways that this will be achieved:

• Locating new development near train stations to help reduce the need for residents and workers to use cars;
• Reducing the number of car parks required in new buildings;
• Slowing the speed limit in the CBD to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety;
• Advocating for improved public transport services and road upgrades where necessary; and
• The master plan includes an action to develop Complete Streets Campsie to manage traffic impacts from growth sustainably and holistically.

A range of traffic and transport improves are proposed as part of the draft master plan. Council will also advocate to and work with Transport for NSW for improved transport outcomes.

The draft master plan seeks to deliver new open space and improvements to existing spaces.

The aim of this master plan is to improve the quality of development in Campsie and create a place that the community can be proud of.

The plan will improve the look and feel of the centre in many ways including (but not limited to):

• Raising the design standards of new buildings;
• Improving the quality of the public domain;
• Improve the way waste is managed and collected;
• Provide new open spaces and improvements to existing spaces; and
• Celebrating heritage and character.

High quality community and cultural infrastructure including libraries, creative and cultural facilities, community centres and recreational facilities will be provided through upgrades to existing infrastructure and provision of new infrastructure to enhance the quality of life and experience in the centre as the City grows.

Council is taking an innovative approach to new development. New buildings in the Campsie centre will be required to meet a range of sustainability initiatives. These include installing solar panels, using only electricity instead of gas to power new buildings, providing electric vehicle charging facilities in new buildings and exceeding current energy and water consumption reduction targets.

In addition, new buildings in the Campsie centre that exceed certain sustainability benchmarks may be eligible for additional floor space and height (see Direction 7 of the draft Campsie Master Plan).