Every western Sydney resident would be able to swim in a river within 30 minutes of their home under a plan to revolutionise the city’s waterways and compensate for rising temperatures that are often 10 degrees hotter than on the coast.
The lobby group Business Western Sydney has proposed installing up to 22 new beaches and jetty pools on the Nepean, Hawkesbury, Georges and Parramatta Rivers – and even a beach in Prospect Reservoir – in what it describes as a bold “conversation starter”.
The plan builds on the example of Penrith Beach, dubbed “Pondi”, which the Minns government opened last summer, giving families an alternative to driving more than an hour to the ocean.
However, the proposals will be controversial, with conservationists already alarmed by the idea planning laws should be relaxed to allow more development in riparian corridors around rivers.
Business Western Sydney executive director David Borger, a former Labor minister in NSW, said rivers were a blessing for cities, but Sydney had turned its back on them.
“I’ve met some kids in western Sydney that have never been to any of the rivers in the region because they just can’t get there. There’s no walking tracks or bridges,” he said.
Borger declared Brisbane was Australia’s best river city, pointing to the Eat Street Northshore precinct about 15 minutes from the city on a decommissioned wharf in Hamilton.
“I went there on a Sunday night. It’s noisy and it’s fun and it’s pretty cheap. Why can’t the Armory at Olympic Park be like that?”
Among the ideas are a sandy beach where Menangle Road crosses the Nepean and a downtown swimming spot on the same river in Penrith, jetty pool on the Hawkesbury at North Richmond, Windsor and Wisemans Ferry, converting Cumberland Council depot on the Duck River tributary into a public pool, gym and cafe, and a new beach at Haigh Park in Moorebank to complement a future redevelopment at Moore Point on the Georges River.
One of the largest beaches envisaged in the plan is at Lansvale, near Fairfield, down the length of Floyd Bay, which runs along the back of Strong Park and Liverpool Golf Club. Another is foreseen inside Prospect Reservoir, along with a jetty, sail club and beach house.
The idea is not out of the question: in-reservoir swimming was countenanced in a recent public consultation about recreation at Prospect Reservoir, now being considered by the government.
The lobby group proposes activating the riverbanks around the new beaches with footpaths, bike tracks, kiosks and boat hire, as well as markets, festivals and function spaces at some locations.
But Sam Johnson, a coastal wetlands campaigner at the Nature Conservation Council of NSW, warned adding more concrete at the expense of native vegetation would increase urban heat.
He was particularly concerned about the report’s commentary that planning laws in riparian corridors (alongside the rivers) were too restrictive and inflexible, especially for urban areas.
“More development in these areas is a poorly considered idea that will result in more flood-prone homes in western Sydney,” Johnson said. “Healthy riparian vegetation is critical for protecting communities from erosion and flood damage, improving water quality, and is crucial habitat for many species.”
The proposal, titled Our Rivers, spelt out the inequity in amenities across the city; western Sydneysiders had far less access to waterways despite suffering worse heat than on the coast.
“The difference can be as much as 10 degrees on very hot days, a disparity driven by poor planning and the region’s distance from cooling sea breezes,” it said. This was especially concerning as the frequency of hot days (above 35 degrees) and extreme heat (above 40 degrees) increases due to climate change.
Business Western Sydney said the ambitious program could be funded by the state government, local council river levies and private developer contributions.
“When you line this up against the cost of major public infrastructure, it’s peanuts,” Borger said. “It’s a rounding error, really.”
Deputy Premier and Minister for Western Sydney Prue Car will speak at an event launching the report on Friday. Her office would not comment on the proposal but said the government welcomed ideas to revitalise western Sydney.
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