Canterbury-Bankstown's new vision

The City of Canterbury Bankstown has today announced it will become Greater Sydney’s premier cultural, health, education and lifestyle hub.

The vision for the City, which is destined to have 500,000 residents and 155,000 workers by 2036 was revealed in a 3D flythrough animation video, during a luncheon at Bankstown Sports Club.

Council also unveiled its proposed new draft master plans for the Campsie and Bankstown town centres, as well as its draft Economic Development Strategy and draft Night Time Economy Action Plan.

Mayor Khal Asfour said the master plans will create places that the community can be proud of.

“Bankstown will be growing into a more jobs-focussed centre, capitalising on the new metro, a 22-storey university and new planned hospital,” Mayor Asfour said.

“While, the Campsie master plan will focus on reconnecting the town centre to the Cooks River, providing more employment-uses close to the hospital and reinforcing the character of Beamish Street.

“These plans will also see that future residential development will have a strong focus on environmental sustainability and smart technology, including compulsory rooftop solar panels and the banning of gas appliances.

“We want to encourage investment in our precincts and create jobs. It’s all about creating opportunities to enable people to work and live within close proximity.”

Mayor Asfour said Canterbury-Bankstown was leading the way when it came to sustainable development.

“From my understanding, no other Council is doing what we are doing in this space and I predict other Councils will follow suit.”

The vision and directions of the master plans set a bold ambition for both centres to deliver:

• A diversity of jobs;
• Capitalise on quick access to Sydney;
• Sustainable and well-designed buildings;
• Affordable homes;
• Places people feel able and welcome to walk around in and enjoy; and
• A great place to live, work, learn and invest.

The draft Economic Development Strategy and Night Time Economy Action Plans showcase how this will go and also create a City that is renowned for its vibrancy, culture, opportunity, safety and centrality – a go-to City for work, living and memorable experiences.

Currently, CBCity has the eighth largest economy in NSW.

“Our strategic location, right in the centre of Greater Sydney, platforms us as being the region’s premier entrepreneurial City,” Mayor Asfour said.

“CBCity has the second highest number of registered businesses in the state, and we envision vast opportunities as these numbers increase both in real terms and in the number of people they employ.

“This growth also offers enormous opportunity for social change for young people, migrants and refugees.”

For more information, and to see the 3D animation, visit cb.city/PlaceOfOpportunity

Additional facts and figures:

• Canterbury-Bankstown is a strategic central Sydney location just 15- 30 minutes from Sydney’s other major centres.
• CBCity is Sydney’s ‘Three Cities’ connecting centre, with rail, road, air and active transport connectivity, supporting its role as a stepping stone for new business and ideas into local, regional and global economies.
• Canterbury-Bankstown generated $15.5 billion in GRP in 2018-19 - almost three per cent of the State’s economy and makes it the eighth largest economy in NSW.
• CBCity has the fifth highest number of jobs located in its LGA in the State.
• Canterbury-Bankstown currently has 378,000 residents and 118,000 local jobs. This is expected to grow to 500,000 residents and 155,000 workers by 2036.
• A new metro line due to commence operation in 2024 will improve connectivity to the Sydney CBD, and investigations underway to extend this through to Liverpool and the new Western Sydney aerotropolis.
• A new $350 Million Western Sydney University campus, which is currently being built in Bankstown CBD, and will help attract 25,000 students to the City by 2036.
• We are a key ‘Destination City’ in Sydney. In 2019/20, there were 2,019,434 international visitors’ nights to the City of Canterbury Bankstown, 553,849 domestic overnight stays, and 531,028 domestic visitor day trips.
• A proposed new $1.3 Billion Lidcombe-Bankstown Hospital in the Bankstown CBD will draw in associated and allied health and research services, and a projected private sector hospital.
• Campsie will be transformed into an Eastern Lifestyle District with an upgraded hospital, aspirations to see an organisation like SBS relocate to the area, and the potential to become a central hub for creative industries, employing 7,500 additional people in the City.
• Canterbury-Bankstown makes a significant contribution to Greater Sydney’s Night Time Economy (NTE). In 2019 there were 7,000 NTE businesses employing nearly 28,000 people and generating an estimated $5.8 billion in sales turnover.
• Since 2015, the number of NTE establishments and sales turnover have both grown by an average of 5 per cent per year. This is double that of the City of Sydney and NSW, which grew at a rate of two per cent and three per cent respectively over the same period.
• The NTE currently makes up approximately 20 per cent of the total economy in Canterbury-Bankstown.