Plans to expand Pendle Hill carpark at Billabong St, Civic Ave
Shoppers and traders could find some relief to parking problems with a council considering the demolition of a dilapidated community centre in Sydney’s west.
Parramatta
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A council will consider demolishing an unused community centre in an effort to solve the parking headache facing commuters and businesses in the ageing Pendle Hill CBD.
Cumberland Deputy Mayor Michael Zaiter proposed to clear the council-owned Cassia Community Centre and replace it with between 30 and 40 spaces as an immediate solution to parking problems in the suburb.
If it won approval, the carpark would be an extension to the existing lot at the corner of Civic Ave and Billabong St and ease parking until a multideck carpark opened.
“Pendle Hill is in desperate need of as much parking as we can provide,’’ Cr Zaiter said.
Surprisingly, it was the Greens councillor, Sujan Selventhiran, who called for the state and federal government’s support to build a multistorey carpark in Pendle Hill.
He urged for support to have more parking to pull in more shoppers who were instead going to Toongabbie and Wentworthville.
But Cr Zaiter reminded him most of the previous council rejected state funding for a 150-lot multistorey carpark because it would create an eyesore to the Civic Park entrance.
“We actually had the funding and that was lost because it kept getting dragged and dragged and dragged, and (the previous) council just couldn’t make up its mind because of some visual impact on one of the entries of Civic Park, which is really sad because we could have had a multistorey carpark about five or six years ago,’’ he said.
Cr Suman Saha backed the Cassia demolition as a “sensible use of the land that addresses a clear community need” instead of spending more money to maintain the an unused asset”.
The council agreed to send the carpark request to the property committee which will prepare a report before May 31. It will also explore electric vehicle parking spaces.
Parking shortages have largely been to blame for Pendle Hill’s struggling main commercial centre, where the Woolworths Metro is shutting on Friday,
As part of the Pendle Hill Public Domain Plan, the council also voted to begin work on stage 3 which includes $4.5m for new paths, street furniture and planter boxes at Pendle Way, Joyce St and Civic Ave.
Under stage one and two, Civic Park and the wetland revitalisation has wrapped up and the public toilets on Purdie Lane opened last week.
“This is more than just infrastructure,’’ Cr Saha said.
“It’s about creating a town centre that our community can be proud of. Let’s keep the momentum going and ensure Pendle Hill continues to grow, thrive and shine.’’
Cr Zaiter said he hoped upgrades would help shopkeepers take pride in their neighbourhood.
“When you’ve got a brand-new car, you look for every scratch, you keep it clean all the time because you’re proud of what you’ve got,’’ he said.
“And by making sure our local business areas are clean, decent, they look modern, people will be proud of what they’ve got to look at, they’ll want to go down the street and actually shop in that particular area.’’
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