PCAL Case Study Retail Areas: Rouse Hill Town Centre Introduction Rouse Hill Town Centre is a new mixed use development on a greenfield site in Sydney s North West. It has been planned to be a major hub of one of the fastest growing areas of the city. The Town Centre design, which is planned to encourage active living, is an innovative mix of a traditional open air 'main street' layout blended with contemporary but relatively small-scale mall style retail and commercial facilities. The town centre development will be complemented by a ring of medium and low density residential development and open space oriented towards the centre and the nearby Caddies Creek system. In terms of active living, many planners believe the Rouse Hill Town Centre represents a model that is a giant leap forward from the car-oriented focus of most current urban fringe development. The development is a contemporary example of transit oriented development, with well-planned links to public transport, a high quality public domain, and it features and supports programs that encourage walking and cycling. The town centre is the result of a partnership between the NSW Government, through Landcom, and the private sector. Description/Context The Rouse Hill Town Centre is located approximately 39 kilometres northwest of the Sydney CBD within Baulkham Hills Local Government Area (LGA) and directly adjacent to the Blacktown LGA. These two council areas are two of the largest and fastest growing LGAs in NSW. The nearest major centres are Blacktown 11 kilometres to the south, Parramatta 19 kilometres to the south-west and Castle Hill 8 kilometres to the east.
2 The total greenfield development site in which the Town Centre is located is 122 hectares in size and is marketed as The New Rouse Hill (to differentiate it from the existing adjacent suburb of Rouse Hill). The 12 hectare Town Centre component is located on the western edge of the site immediately east of Windsor Road opposite Schofields Road. At completion, the 122 hectare, $1.2 billion masterplanned development is expected to house 4,500 new residents in up to 1,800 new dwellings, generate up to 12,000 permanent jobs within the Town Centre, and accommodate approximately 34 hectares of open space. The Town Centre component is being developed in two stages Stage One is complete and includes 65,000m² of retail and commercial floor space, while Stage Two is due for completion in 2008 and will bring the total floor space up to 200,000 m². As well as the retail uses, the Town Centre development includes: 11,600m² of commercial space, comprising offices, gymnasium and educational facilities 5,000m² of health and medical facilities 2,400 m² for a library and a community centre An interchange for buses that run between surrounding districts and join the Parramatta - Rouse Hill Transitway (an interchange with the future North-West Rail Link is also planned) Shop-top housing Predominantly underground parking The Rouse Hill Town Centre is envisaged by Landcom to be the commercial, retail, transport and social hub of the expanding north west region. Once it and surrounding release areas are complete, it is expected to become the service hub for around 250,000 residents of the north-western area of Sydney. Design Process In the early 1980s, the NSW Department of Planning identified the greenfield site as the location for a sub-regional centre to serve northwest Sydney, and purchased the land for this purpose. The Department of Planning later appointed Landcom as its representative to oversee delivery of the vision for the centre as population growth accelerated. The NSW Government required specific objectives to be met in the development of the site, including the creation of a vibrant town centre that was based on a main street model. The Rouse Hill Town Centre forms the centrepiece of Stage One of the regional centre. In 2002/2003 through a tender process, the NSW Government selected the Lend Lease/GPT (General Property Trust) joint venture to develop and masterplan the Town Centre site. GPT will own and manage the Rouse Hill Town Centre. The Masterplan for the Rouse Hill Regional Centre was approved by Baulkham Hills Shire Council on 24 March 2004. The Town Centre and immediately surrounding development area is now labelled The New Rouse Hill. Construction of the Town Centre began in April 2006. Stage One of the Town Centre, which includes 65,000m² of retail and commercial floor space was opened in September 2007. The second stage of the Town Centre is due to open in 2008 and will include additional shops, commercial development as well as a library and community buildings. Construction of dwellings within and surrounding the Town Centre will be provided incrementally over the period to 2010. Evaluation The Centre is a diverse mix of retail, commercial and community facilities built around a main street style design. The developers say that its aim is to "fuse the tradition of a main street and the convenience of a modern shopping centre". The mixed uses encourage people to make multi-purpose trips. Because it is well linked to a network of public transport services and a bus priority corridor in the form of the Parramatta Rouse Hill Transitway, the location is highly accessible and less car dependent than conventional suburban centres.
3 The Town Centre encourages and enables active living in a number of ways. It is a good example of how a number of the design considerations set out in the Retail section of Designing Places for Active Living can be put into practice. These include: Encouragement of walking and cycling The Rouse Hill Town Centre differs significantly from most standard internalised malls by its blending of large indoor retail spaces with substantial outdoor areas, linked by a finely grained pedestrian network. Well-designed streets, lanes and pedestrian connections make the Centre easy to navigate on foot. The Town Centre is based around a main two-way, open air main street that intersects with smaller streets connecting to public squares and other open spaces as well as to the indoor mall-style retail areas. Trees have been chosen to provide shade and protection from the sun in summer. Cyclists are also well catered for, with a network of cycle paths along creek lines and connecting local streets. There is parking for 150 bicycles. Clustering of activities and facilities in an accessible centre The Town Centre has been designed as part of an integrated masterplan, with high density residential and office development planned for the areas immediately around the Town Centre and public transport interchange, and less dense housing further out. The development as a whole is designed to provide residents with employment, retail and recreational opportunities that are close to their homes. The Town Centre is within convenient walking distance of the transport interchange, and is criss-crossed with streets that provide connectivity to the surrounding residential precincts. This open planning will help ensure that rather than being an isolated, car-dependent mall, the Town Centre has good connectivity with its surroundings. This approach has the potential to reduce dependence on private vehicles and encourage active living by making it easier for people to walk, cycle or use public transport to get to, from and through the Town Centre and around their local area. Provision of quality open space A number of open spaces are provided within the Town Centre, including a large outdoor market square, in which there are plans to hold a monthly growers market beginning in 2008. Once Stage Two is complete, visitors to the Centre will have access to The Backyard, a large area of open space adjacent to the retail centre. Children in particular will be well catered for, with musical play areas, an environmental education trail, and a secret garden. The Town Centre is carefully linked to the other, larger open spaces that will be provided within the New Rouse Hill development as a whole. Significant areas of the New Rouse Hill have been dedicated to open space, in recognition of the importance of outdoor areas for residents quality of life. The development will provide over 34 hectares of parks and open space, and residential development is planned so that all residents homes are only a three-minute walk from their local parkland or open space. A network of cycling and walking paths is planned. Links to public transport A transit oriented development, the Rouse Hill Town Centre is closely aligned with the public transport system. The Centre includes a major public transport interchange, located adjacent to Windsor Road at the western end of Main Street. The interchange provides a transport gateway to greater Sydney, linking directly with bus services to Parramatta and Blacktown both of which are rail hubs and to the M2 Motorway services to the Sydney CBD. In particular, the interchange is the head station for the North-West Transitway, which provides a high speed "bus motorway" to these major centres. The Transitway is utilised by a large number of bus routes that link surrounding suburbs to the major centres and intermediate employment hubs such as Norwest Business Park and Westmead. Reinforcing the Town Centre s role as a key public transport hub for the North West Growth Centre, the interchange will also be the location of a station on the North West Rail Link. This link from Rouse Hill via Castle Hill to Epping, connecting to the Epping-Chatswood line, is to be completed in 2017. This public transport network helps commuters, shoppers, school children, people visiting doctors, medical centres and hospitals, students and other passengers to get around their local community and beyond without relying on a private vehicle. To assist walking or cycling to these public transport services, there are clear and direct walking routes to the interchange and internal bus stops from all parts of the development area. As part of a developer
4 agreement with the State Government, the proponent is also required to fund sustainable transport initiatives such as dissemination of transport information to households and businesses, car sharing and community bicycle schemes. Project Participants The project is a joint venture between Landcom, the NSW Department of Planning and the private sector (Lend Lease and the GPT Group). The GPT Group is delivering retail and leisure facilities at a cost of approximately $470 million. The transport infrastructure and services have been predominantly funded and delivered by the NSW State Government. NSW State government agencies: Department of Planning, Landcom, Developers: Landcom and the GPT Group ($470 million) Masterplanner: LendLease / GPT Design and construction: Bovis LendLease ($330 million) Architects: Rice Daubney, Allen Jack and Cottier and Group GSA Council: Baulkham Hills Shire Council Project Summary Completion date: Town Centre Stage One completed September 2007. Stage Two due for completion March 2008 Design team: GPT/ Bovis LendLease Planning authority: NSW Department of Planning, Baulkham Hills Shire Council Landowner: NSW Government Value: $470 million (total for Stages One and Two).
5 Images 1. Links to public transport 2. Assist walking or cycling to these public transport services
6 3. Encouragement of walking and cycling 4. High speed 'bus motorway' to these centres 5. Large outdoor market square
7 6. Designed to provide residents with employment, retail and recreational opportunities 7. Substantial outdoor areas 8. Provision of quality open space
8 9. Mall style retail and commercial facilities 10. Environmental education trail
9 11. Parking for 150 bicycles