Growing and investing in health and education precincts and Bankstown Airport trade gateway as economic catalysts for the District

The Bankstown Airport trade gateway is supported by road and rail infrastructure. The nearby Milperra industrial area is the largest employment precinct in the South District, and includes businesses in strategic economic sectors such as advanced manufacturing. This base can be leveraged to grow internationally competitive sectors to increase productivity and local jobs in the District.

Kogarah health and education precinct

Kogarah health and education precinct crosses the boundary of the South and the Eastern City Districts. Health services at Kogarah are accessed by communities in the Bayside and Georges River local government areas as part of the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District.

St George Public Hospital, a major tertiary and teaching hospital, is the District’s leading hospital. It specialises in medical trauma services and contains the Medical Retrieval Service Coordination Centre for NSW. The NSW Government has committed $277 million between 2014–2019 to support the hospital’s expansion⁹. Together with the nearby St George Private Hospital, this provides approximately 680 hospital beds in the precinct¹⁰.

The St George & Sutherland Clinical School, which is part of UNSW Medicine at the University of NSW, provides clinical studies for students at St George Hospital. St George College TAFE, with an enrolment of 4,000 students, is nearby. Numerous allied health services including the research capacity at South Eastern Area Laboratory Services are also nearby.

Collaborative planning will encourage land uses that can grow health and ancillary services and provide opportunities for new allied health and education services. Providing housing and choice for moderate-income households, students and health visitors are important to support the growth of the precinct, as is improving accessibility to the precinct and connections from the public transport network.

The Commission has identified the Kogarah health and education precinct as a Collaboration Area. The Commission will facilitate collaboration between Georges River Council; Bayside Council; NSW Department of Health; TAFE NSW; St George Public and Private Hospitals; NSW Department of Education; Transport for NSW; NSW Department of Industry, Skills and Regional Development; other institutions and agencies; and the community. The Commission will facilitate the collaboration of key stakeholders to develop a shared vision, objectives, identify impediments and opportunities to:

• prioritise land uses to grow existing and new allied health and education services
• increase knowledge-based and population serving employment
• prioritise opportunities for affordable housing for students, moderate income households and health visitors
• investigate opportunities to improve connections within the precinct and east-west transport connections within the District.

Bankstown-Lidcombe an emerging health and education precinct

Western Sydney University will establish a world-class teaching and research campus in the Bankstown strategic centre¹¹. The University and Canterbury-Bankstown Council have identified a suitable site located between Council’s administration building and Bankstown Library and Knowledge Centre. The campus will potentially accommodate up to 7,000 students.

Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital is located close to Bankstown strategic centre. A range of allied health care providers and services are already located at the centre, as is TAFE Bankstown College.

A health and education precinct will emerge from the co-location of health and education facilities in the centre, as well as improved transport connections from Sydney Metro City & Southwest.

Residents of the District will benefit from improved health care services, particularly in the western part of the District.

Collaborative planning will assist in identifying locations for the key facilities and create opportunities for allied health and education services to locate in the precinct. Providing housing and choice for moderate-income households, students and health visitors are important to support the growth of the precinct, as is improving accessibility and connections from the public transport network.

Bankstown Airport and Milperra industrial area

Bankstown Airport is a trade gateway, used largely for general aviation, parcel freight and recreational flying. It fulfils an important role for fixed-wing and helicopter flight training and as a base for emergency services.

The Airport’s future must be strategically planned in the context of the Western Sydney Airport and Badgerys Creek Aerotropolis, the need to manage airspace and the future distribution of regional and freight aviation services. The Bankstown Airport Masterplan 2014 anticipates aircraft movements at Bankstown Airport to increase to approximately 282,000 movements per year to 2036. The Airport is anticipated to have capacity for a further 450,000 movements per year over this time period.

The airport site occupies 313 hectares and adjoins the Milperra industrial area, one of the most important centres of economic activity in the South District. Approximately 15,700 people work in the Milperra industrial area, with a third of jobs in manufacturing, including advanced manufacturing operations¹². Sectors of specialisation include aviation/aerospace and electronics. Advanced manufacturing is identified in Jobs for the Future as a priority globally tradeable segment which offers strong prospects for high-value and accelerated jobs growth and to develop globally competitive capability in skills and technology¹³.

The Bankstown Airport Masterplan 2014 sets aside 130 hectares of land adjacent to Milperra for future development for non-aviation uses, with the aim of developing an industrial economic and employment hub¹⁴. Together with the established Milperra industrial area, this area is well located with access to air transport, the road and rail freight network; the proposed Moorebank intermodal terminal; Liverpool; Bankstown; and the Liverpool health and education precinct. Public transport for workers could improve with the potential expansion of the Sydney Metro City & Southwest from Bankstown to Liverpool.

Given the strategic opportunities associated with Bankstown Airport and Milperra industrial area, it has been identified as a Collaboration Area (refer to Figure 18). The Commission will work with Canterbury-Bankstown Council, the NSW Government, the Australian Government, Bankstown Airport Limited, industry and the community to develop a long-term economic strategy. This will:

• improve transport connections to the broader District
• integrate planning for the airport with planning of surrounding lands
• coordinate infrastructure delivery
• facilitate advanced manufacturing and innovation
• expand opportunities stemming from Western Sydney University Bankstown Campus and the University of NSW Aviation School.