Council Update - Summer edition 2026
Our new quarterly newsletter letting you know what we’ve been doing to create a City you love
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Mayor’s message
As we step into 2026, I’m proud to reflect on the year gone by and excited about what the coming year brings.
In 2024–25, we delivered a record $115.5 million capital works program, upgrading roads, drainage, footpaths, cycleways and bridges, while enhancing parks and play spaces across the City.
Kids will be particularly happy with our brand new all‑ages play space and bike track at Ewen Park, as well as the brand‑new pump track opening soon at Deepwater Park. There will be more improvements to look forward to in 2026.
We also celebrated events like Lakemba Nights during Ramadan, which attracted over 1.2 million visitors, and secured funding for projects that will shape our future, including the Cooks River Flood Study.
These achievements and more are made possible thanks to the support of our community; our workers, parents, youth and volunteers who make this City great.
Together, we’ll make 2026 a year of progress, opportunity and pride for everyone who calls Canterbury‑Bankstown home.
Regards,
Mayor Bilal El-Hayek
Categories
Our Annual Report: highlights from 2024-25
Investing in our City
We’re continuing to upgrade buildings, roads and play spaces to create a City our community loves.
Recent upgrades include play spaces at Ewen Park, Deepwater Park, Jack Chesher Reserve and Austin Reserve, a new roundabout at Yangoora Road and Benaroon Road, a footpath at Graf Park, a shared path along the Cooks River and sports field lighting at Memorial Oval.
In 2025/26, we invested in ugrading roads, footpaths, cycleways, traffic management devices and bridges, completing 43 footpath projects to help keep our community moving and connected.
There are more upgrades to come! Learn about them in Council’s delivery program 2025/29.
2025 by the numbers
- 304,234 people visited our pools
- 236,284 customer service calls responded to
- 4,000+ attended our Christmas events
We're on the watch for illegal dumping
In our mission to keep our streets clean, CBCity’s Investigations Team has been hard at work to identify a business that dumped asbestos-contaminated material and more than 54 tonnes of waste across Bankstown streets.
The waste, including soil, wood and rubble, blocked traffic lanes and car parks, forcing Council to spend $27,881 of ratepayer funds to safely remove the waste.
CCTV and covert surveillance were used to identify the vehicle involved, which resulted in a $35,000 fine and conviction at Bankstown Local Court.
Our teams are hard at work year round to keep our streets clean, but if you spot someone doing the wrong thing, please report it.
Multi‑level parking gets a refresh
Did you know that Council maintains seven multi-level car parks across the City? We’ve enhanced our car parks cleaning service to ensure these spaces get deep-cleaned as part of a regular cleaning schedule.
This thorough wash is in addition to our regular litter and cleaning service and covers parking bays, walkways and stairwells. This creates a cleaner and more pleasant experience for everyone by removing built-up dirt and grime.
We’re committed to meeting the expectations of our community and will continue to review and improve our services as our City grows.
Update on our Development Control Plan
Thank you to everyone who shared feedback late last year on the draft changes to the Canterbury-Bankstown Development Control Plan. These updates focused on the Belmore and Lakemba local centres, as well as the Punchbowl and Wiley Park village centres.
The goal is to support new housing, create vibrant public spaces and encourage business opportunities while keeping the unique character of each area.
We’re now reviewing all the feedback and creating a summary report, which will be presented to Council this year.
Events coming up
Bankstown Lunar New Year
Saturday 7 February 4-9pm
Step into the Year of the Horse with non-stop action: high-energy main stage entertainment, roaring Chinese dragon and lions and delectable food!
Lakemba Nights during Ramadan
Every Thursday-Sunday from 19 February-15 March
Sydney’s most popular multicultural event returns in 2026! See Haldon Street, Lakemba transformed into a vibrant global food bazaar with a buzzing atmosphere.
Campsie Lantern Festival
Saturday 28 February, 5-9:30pm
Help us to wrap up the new year celebrations and light up the sky with glowing lanterns, lion dances, tasty food and vibrant cultural entertainment.
Discover
From festivals and family fun to hidden foodie gems and farmers markets, Where Interesting Happens is your destination to the best of Canterbury-Bankstown.
Start exploring now at WhereInterestingHappens.com.au
Find out what’s on in Canterbury-Bankstown, go to cb.city/WhatsOn