A new Leanyer location has been selected for Casuarina bus exchange

A new plan has been revived that could see a controversial bus exchange relocated. Read where it’s going.

A plan to relocate the Casuarina bus interchange is back on the table, almost three years after it was shelved because key stakeholders opposed the plan and the NT Government lost confidence in the project.

The NT News has learnt discussions have resumed around a potential relocation for the essential public transport infrastructure, with a new northern suburbs site on the table.

A proposal to relocate the bus interchange, located on Bradshaw Street beside Casuarina Square shopping centre, was first raised when the centre was owned by GPT Group.

The issue fell into the lap of Sentinel Property Group when the Brisbane-based fund manager finalised Casuarina Square’s $418 million purchase from GPT Group in February 2022.

The Territory Government supported the move, with a spokesman for then Infrastructure Minister Eva Lawler saying Labor was seeking an alternative site.

Casuarina Bus Exchange. Picture: Amanda Parkinson

“The Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics has been working closely with the Sentinel Group on development plans for the centre,” the spokesman said.

“This includes discussions about the future location of the bus interchange to ensure this infrastructure is ideally located to meet the needs of centre patrons and the community.”

The relocation plan included a land swap between the NT Government and Sentinel, with the replacement interchange being built on land owned by Sentinel, and Sentinel developing the old site into a town centre to support economic growth in Darwin’s northern suburbs.

Change was contingent on stakeholder support, particularly from City of Darwin and the Territory’s bus operators CDC.

Images of an assault at the bus exchange.

Concerns about the safety of bus users leaving the interchange onto busy Trower Road eventually sunk the relocation plan, with the government eventually ceding to the safety argument.

The estimated cost of the proposed relocation 500m up the street was about $21 million.

But the NT News has learnt that a potential new site has emerged which could see the interchange finally relocated.

Stakeholders have identified a large vacant block in Leanyer beside the Water Park on Vanderlin Drive that key parties believe could potentially tick the safety box that was missing from the Trower Road relocation.

A 2007 image of Police Minister Chris Burns, Chief Minister Clare Martin and Police Commissioner Paul White at Casuarina Bus Exchange – Picture: Michael Marschall

The plan is backed by the NT Government, City of Darwin and Sentinel Property Group.

Under the new transport model, the old Casuarina exchange would become a bus stop.

Sentinel Property Group is in the process of finalising designs for a $50m renovation at Casuarina Square designed to enhance the centre’s security.

Sentinel are also trying to relocate bottleshops and banks from the centre as part of a comprehensive overhaul.

By far the Territory’s largest shopping centre, Casuarina Square is visited by more than eight million customers every year.

But over the bus terminal has proven a magnet for anti-social behaviour and occasional acts of violence. Former City of Darwin councillor Gary Haslett sustained serious injuries when he was assaulted during a brazen afternoon attack in 2022.

Even as far back as 2007, NT Police commissioner Paul White and chief minister Clare Martin launched an anti-gang campaign at the bus exchange.

Originally published as A new Leanyer location has been selected for Casuarina bus exchange