Parramatta North Urban Renewal - Urban GrowthNSW

Proposed changes to planning controls pose a very real threat to the historic sites of the CUMBERLAND PRECINCT including the Parramatta convict Female Factory & Penitentiary for 1821 -1848 and the Parramatta Lunatic Asylum (now Cumberland Hospital); the Roman Catholic Orphan School - Australia's first purpose built orphanage for Catholic children established in 1844 and re-purposed in 1887 as the Parramatta Girls Home and later as the Norma Parker Periodic Detention Centre for Females (1980-2010); Parramatta Gaol operating from 1842 until decommissioned in 2011.

Changes to planning controls will allow the NSW Government to declare Parramatta North a site of State Significance effectively nullifying heritage and environmental protections enshrined in State Legislation. With these protections 'switched off' this would pave the the way for proposed developments including:

-4,100 residential dwellings spread across the precinct within 69 seperate buildings ranging up to 30 stories in height (with more to come as further land is released)

-28,000m2GFA of adaptive reuse of retianed heritage buildings

-up to 4,000 m2GFA of retail space

What are the concerns?

-excessive commercial & residential development

-transport, access, parking & infrastructure

-loss of community facilities & open space

-impact on wildlife, the fragile enviornment of the river and heritage sites

-unsympathetic use of historic buildings & locations

Properly considered, the development of Parramatta North particularly the Cumberland precinct, should be an exemplar of world class practice in urban renewal as a national Site of Memory that contributes to our sense of identity as Australians and pays tribute to an estimated 40,000 women and children who passed through its historic institutions and reconnects the many millions of Australians descended from them with this site.

What we are asking for

Extend public consultation deadline to the end of February 2015 to allow sufficient time to review the proposals and to make submissions.

Join others, who like yourself CARE about our communities, our heritage and our environment. 

What you can do

-sign the petition

-spread the word