South District Plan Implementation Update

Infrastructure and collaboration

• NSW Health: Planning underway for the $1.3 billion new Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital. St George Hospital birthing suites and operating theatres - birthing suites ($11.5 million) complete and operational (Feb 2020). Refurbishment of operating theatres underway. Sutherland Hospital planning underway¹⁰⁴.
   
• School Infrastructure NSW: 13 upgrade projects in planning or underway and two upgrades completed. Thirty schools have participated to date in the Share Our Space Program¹⁰⁵.
   
• Kogarah Collaboration Area: Kogarah Collaboration Area Place Strategy approved in December 2019. The Place Strategy identifies a vision and shared objectives for the Kogarah Collaboration Area’s growth as a health and knowledge precinct and was developed in collaboration with the Commission and the Kogarah Collaboration Area Stakeholder Group¹⁰⁶.
   
• ANSTO Collaboration Area: Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) Place Strategy published December 2019. The Place Strategy supports ANSTO’s vision for an Innovation Precinct at its Lucas Heights campus and aims to increase the number of knowledge intensive jobs within the district¹⁰⁷.
   
• Bankstown CBD and Bankstown Airport Collaboration Area: Bankstown CBD and Bankstown Airport Place Strategy completed in December 2019. The Place Strategy aims to guide the area’s transition from a suburban centre to a distinctive health, academic, research and training precinct¹⁰⁸.
   
• Local Infrastructure: In 2018-19 more than $50 million received from development contributions and voluntary planning agreements to help fund local roads, stormwater management and land for open space and community services and other public benefits¹⁰⁹.

Liveability

• LHSs: Being updated or prepared by all 3 councils for their respective LGA. Draft LHSs for Canterbury-Bankstown and Georges River publicly exhibited and provided to DPIE for assessment and approval. Sutherland is preparing a draft LHS, consistent with the short-term action in their LSPSs. Both Canterbury-Bankstown and Georges River have included affordable housing policies in their draft LHSs.
   
• 6-10 year housing targets: As part of their LHSs, councils are to show how they can meet an indicative draft range for 6-10 year housing targets (2021/22 - 2025/26) of 10,500-12,500 dwellings in Canterbury-Bankstown, 3,450-4,250 in Georges River and 3,800-5100 in Sutherland.
   
• Streets as Shared Space Program: A state-wide pilot program has awarded grants (one-off grant funding of $15 million) to councils for temporary activation projects that support the community during COVID-19 and also test ideas for more permanent improvements to local streets, paths and public spaces. Successful projects that will be granted funding include Canterbury-Bankstown’s ‘Streets as Rooms for Living: Micro Rooms’ project which includes ten pop ups converting streets to public spaces in town centres across the LGA ($1,000,000), Georges River’s ‘Walkability and Wellness in Kogarah’ project which will see improved connectivity across five locations with increased public space, traffic calming, lighting, street furniture and outdoor dining ($50,000) and ‘Forest in the City’ project which includes increased public space, traffic calming and increased tree canopy on Forest Road, Hurstville ($350,000)¹¹⁰.
   
• Walk the Walls Project: By Sutherland for Cronulla and Caringbah centres featuring the work of local indigenous and emerging artists, supporting creative industries as well as generating local tourism¹¹¹.

Productivity

• Industrial and Employment Lands Studies: Canterbury-Bankstown and Georges River have prepared Industrial and Employment Land Strategies. Sutherland is preparing a review of industrial lands.
   
• Place Strategy for Hurstville: Georges River’s Hurstville Place Strategy was endorsed by Council in December 2019. The Strategy provides a vision and key projects to transform the city centre. Funding is being sought for coordination of the Place Strategy to lead its delivery¹¹².

Sustainability

• Five Million Trees Program: Funding of $842,717 for Georges River and Sutherland councils¹¹³.
   
• Everyone Can Play: The Everyone Can Play grant program has delivered $50,000 in funding for upgrades to the Northcote Park Play space in Greenacre within the City of Canterbury Bankstown LGA¹¹⁴.

• Parks for People Program: Funding for an upgraded park in Allawah¹¹⁵.
   
• Georges River Coastal Management Program: Being developed by the Georges Riverkeeper and its member councils including each of the South District councils¹¹⁶.
   
• Cooks River Open Space Corridor: Canterbury-Bankstown will develop a plan in consultation with neighbouring Strathfield for the part of this priority Green Grid corridor that runs through their LGA. This is supported by $200,000 in funding from the NSW Government’s Metropolitan Greenspace Program¹¹⁷.
   
• Wolli Creek Regional Park and Bardwell Valley Parkland Green Grid Corridor: Canterbury-Bankstown is preparing a long-term vision and implementation strategy for this priority Green Grid corridor, in consultation with neighbouring Bayside. This is supported by $200,000 in funding from the NSW Government’s Metropolitan Greenspace Program¹¹⁸.
   
• Salt Pan Creek Corridor: Georges River will develop a plan for the Salt Pan Creek Corridor which will set a vision and identify catalyst implementation projects. This is supported by $200,000 in funding from the NSW Government’s Metropolitan Greenspace Program¹¹⁹.
   
• Bankstown to Sydenham Open Space Corridor: Canterbury-Bankstown will develop a spatial framework for delivering this corridor, consolidating information from previous studies and reports to create an action plan of implementation projects. This work is supported by $200,000 in funding from the NSW Government’s Metropolitan Greenspace Program¹²⁰.