Blacktown Health, Education hub: plans for apartments, private hospital, aged-care centre

An expansive health and education precinct has been earmarked for Sydney’s west, featuring a private hospital, aged care hub, apartments and shopfronts. See the plans.

A multimillion-dollar, transformative plan to establish a health and education precinct surrounding a western Sydney hospital has been revealed — as several homes face the wrecking ball to make it a reality.

Blacktown Council have completed masterplans to transform land surrounding Blacktown Hospital from a residential area to a “higher density, mixed use” precinct featuring a series of residential apartments, hospital services, medical practices, assisted living, aged care, as well as cafes, carparking facilities and shopfronts.

Artist impressions of the Blacktown Health and Education precinct.

Under the proposed masterplanned redevelopment, which would see as many as 22 homes acquired and demolished, a private hospital was earmarked to be built next to the existing Blacktown Hospital site in an effort to meet future population growth.

“The Precinct is a key Transformation Project for Blacktown City,” a planner for a major project said. “It will provide space for health and allied health development and allow the expansion of health and allied services to meet the demand of the growing population.”

Under the masterplanned redevelopment of the precinct, homes north of Main St will be demolished to allow for a mix of commercial, retail and apartment buildings.

Meanwhile, the Blacktown Bowling Club site will face the wrecking ball for an education and health hub.

Artist impressions of the Blacktown Health and Education precinct.

A series of homes surrounding Captain Cook Memorial Park will also make way for the expansion of the park, drainage and future road corridors.

Planners said the project would see buildings ranging from five to 10-storeys in height.

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“To incentive the amalgamation of sites throughout the precinct, a height bonus is proposed to allow building height to exceed the permissible height identified … and achieve a minimum site area of 2000sq m,” the planner said.

The council aimed to see the development of “iconic” buildings within the precinct, as well as “additional development close to the Blacktown CBD”.

Tour of new facilities at Blacktown Hospital. Start of stage 2.

In March, a NSW Planning director issued the project a Gateway Determination, following support from Blacktown councillors.

An independent market assessment for a co-located private hospital within the health and education hub said the regional experienced “unmet demand for private health services in the Blacktown region”.

Blacktown Hospital clinical services building with volunteers.

Stage one and two of NSW Health’s $700 million redevelopment of Blacktown Hospital are complete, with the inclusion of high-priority clinical services, a comprehensive cancer centre for treatment, additional acute beds, a new emergency departments, ICU, operating theatres and a series of purpose-built wards.