2 minute read
2.8 Key Strategic Influences
Challenges
• Facilitating employment opportunities that complement rather than compete with the Norwest and Castle Hill Strategic Centres.
• Lack of clear Rouse Hill Brand – creates difficulty in attracting business investment and talent.
• Continued pressure for shorter term ‘highest and best use’ residential or mixed use outcomes.
Economy
Access & Movement
• Rouse Hill has solidified its role as a major retail destination, rather than diversifying the employment offering. There is currently very little commercial office space.
• Ongoing threat of e-commerce and online shopping to retail trade as the uptake of online shopping continues to grow across Australia.
• Market uptake inhibited by various factors (e.g. land cost, speculation and traffic issues etc.).
• Congestion from regional and local traffic.
• Roads and sprawling Precinct inhibits pedestrian and cycle movements.
• Limited vehicular connectivity that forces traffic onto a handful of key roads.
• Absence of detailed traffic modelling.
• Major road barriers such as Windsor Road and Rouse Hill Drive.
• Large undeveloped landholdings hinder permeability.
Opportunities
• Leverage the Rouse Hill hospital to be a catalyst for growth and investment, including the formation of a health hub.
• Enable the Precinct to evolve into a thriving regional destination with employment opportunities that match the skills of residents.
• Improved mass transit links to Parramatta and the Western Sydney International Airport.
• Ensuring planning policy is flexible enough to allow shopping centres to respond to changing consumer needs.
• Enhance pedestrian and cycling connections throughout the Precinct.
• New vehicular connections to divert traffic away from roads already at capacity.
• Proximity to existing and emerging residential communities in the rapidly growing North West Sydney Region.
• Investigate opportunities to facilitate enhanced connections to and from surrounding growth areas.
• Achieving a cohesive vision and approach to development throughout the Precinct.
• Creating synergies with Blacktown Local Government Area across Windsor Road.
Amenity & Place
• School capacity to cater for increased population.
• Uncertainty of future local and regional infrastructure contributions costs.
• Capacity of open space network and limited land available to facilitate new active open space areas.
• Opportunity to enable Rouse Hill to transform into a major commercial centre with increased vibrancy servicing the northwest with jobs, shopping, dining, recreation and community services.
• Build on the positive foundation and success of the existing Town Centre to establish a distinct and identifiable local character and sense of place.
• A blank canvas - large undeveloped parcels of land in single ownership can lead to higher quality master planned outcomes.
• Set clear parameters for the assessment of the strategic and site specific merit of any future development applications or planning proposals.
• Encouraging a stronger night-time economy to attract and retain workers and visitors.
• Delivery of new open spaces and plazas in the heart of commercial areas.
• Various new road connections and upgrades.
Infrastructure
