Bank Street Park

Public consultation for the design brief

What we have heard so far

Community and stakeholder consultation was undertaken between August and September 2022, to help inform a design brief for Bank Street Park that reflects community needs and aspirations.

From the Phase 1 consultation, we heard the following priorities for the park:

• Connection to Country and First Nations representation

• A welcoming and accessible park that caters to different users and activities

• Quality amenities to support park users

• Consideration of the needs of boating users and water sports

• Mixed views around the future of buildings at 1-3 Bank Street

• A green place of respite

• Connection to the water and enhanced views

• A distinct identity for the park

Shaping new waterfront park at Bank Street

The redevelopment of Blackwattle Bay offers an exciting opportunity to build an inclusive and iconic waterfront destination that celebrates innovation, diversity and community. As part of this redevelopment, there will be a new 1.1 hectare waterside park at Bank Street, Pyrmont.

Three design concepts have been developed for the park, which have taken into consideration community priorities from Phase 1, site constraints, identified local infrastructure needs and the need to provide a space that can be enjoyed by all.

Each of the concepts comprises various elements, in different locations. The preferred park design may be a combination of different elements of all three concepts.

Phase 2 consultation occurred from 23 February until 22 March 2023 to test three design concepts, and options for a play and youth space.

Bank Street Park design concepts centre around the following conceptual design principles, aligned to our First Nations consultation process:

1. Healing Country: maximising green spaces and Indigenous planting including species endemic to the area. There is opportunity to highlight Tjerruing (callicoma serratifolia or blackwattle) that protects the freshwater as it flows into the garigalo (saltwater).

2. Revealing Country: telling stories of Country through Indigenous art, language and cultural interpretation. Themes will be further developed in consultation with First Nations people and may include reflection on pre-colonial site conditions and Indigenous cultural associations, truth telling addressing the impacts of colonialism, and recognising Black Diggers, tying into the site’s associate with the ANZAC bridge above.

3. Caring for Country: ensuring the park is a socially and environmentally sustainable development that supports contemporary Indigenous cultural practices as well as being a safe and welcoming place for all, with a particular focus on creating and great space for women. Providing visual and physical connectivity to the water is also a key outcome of the park, reinforcing the need to design, for, of and with Country.

• Following consultation, the design consultants will review the feedback and progress further studies to develop a preferred concept design.

• Additional environmental investigations will need to be prepared for consideration in the detailed design, including water quality, heritage and traffic. The final design will need to address these findings.

• An environmental impact statement will be prepared on the preferred concept design to assess construction and operational considerations.

• These documents will form part of a State Significant Development Application, which will be hysd with the Department of Planning and Environment (DPE). The DPE will place the application on public exhibition before assessing and determining the application. The community will be invited to provide feedback on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and preferred concept design during the public exhibition period.