The Southern Parklands lie in the south of the Western Sydney Parklands corridor and comprise 1500 Ha (28% of the Parklands overall), which at this time is largely underdeveloped for recreational and leisure uses.

Surrounded by a community from over 44 countries the Southern Parklands provides the opportunity to celebrate diversity and be a meeting place for the locals who now call Australia home. With opportunities ranging from Vietnam’s market gardens to India’s Vastu gardens, a diversity of programming promoting safety, comfort and delight can be the basis of an inclusive parklands.

The visions seek to create unique destinations that enhance park identity, promote active living, and wellness and improve amenity for local residents.  Key principles include:

• Conserve, Protect And Enhance

• Optimise The Edges

• Cluster And Integrate

• Recreation And Leisure For The City, District And Neighbourhood

• People To Park / Park To People

• Water In The Landscape

• Guide And Influence Infrastructure

• Engage With Nature On Multiple Levels

• Build Resilience

In particular the plan emphasises the need for the park to positively address new commnuities with a potential for a higher level of density and activity adjoining the park edge.

The final document provides a 20 year Vision for the Southern Parklands giving guidance to the evolution of development, use and facilities ,and informing the relationship with adjoining infrastructure and development.

The plan received the Award for Landscape Planning at the 2018 Australian Institute of Landscape Architects NSW Awards (see citation at bottom)

Influencer Projects

The Southern Parklands lie within a context of evolving urban and infrastructure development.

Implications of these projects for the Southern Parklands need to be considered in park planning and where possible “the Southern Parklands” influence these external projects for mutual benefit and an optimum community outcome.

Vision Outcomes

The Vision identifies a series of principles which will inform planning and decision making across the Southern Parklands including:

• the distribution and interaction of uses

• the relationship to existing and future urban communities and infrastructure projects

• the development of places that offer diverse and exciting experiences for a city, district and local population

2018 NSW AILA Awards Citation

A grand vision is guiding the implementation of another major piece in the jig-saw that forms the Western Sydney Parklands. Southern Parklands will become the open space and recreational heart for the “Parklands City”- the third city of Greater Sydney growing around Western Sydney Airport, as articulated in the Draft South Western District Plan 2016.

The Southern Parklands Vision 2036 embodies a series of principles. These were based on a rigorous assessment of the open space values and the scenic, environmental and heritage qualities of the landscape. The principles guide the future implementation and management of the parkland and the adjacent development corridor. It establishes precincts that offer diverse and exciting experiences for the regional and local populations; the distribution and interaction of uses; and the relationship to existing and future urban communities and infrastructure projects. It emphasises the need to positively address new communities to the west with potential for a higher level of urban density and activity adjoining the park edge, and an integrated approach to neighbourhood centres and transport corridors.

As a testament to the clarity of the vision and the ability to collaborate with key stakeholders, the Trust was able to convince RMS to alter their planned alignment of the M12 Link (between the western Sydney Airport and M7) which would have taken the road through the Scenic Hills section of the parklands and one of the most important landscapes of the corridor. The vision had identified this zone as the location of South West Sydney’s equivalent to Centennial Park and a major place for events and tourism.

The Trust has commenced implementing the Southern Parklands Vision through the development of a Landscape Framework and the first stages of works on the park and facilities.