Parkes Special Activation Precinct Structure Plan

• Parkes, New South Wales
• Department of Planning, Industry & Environment
• 2019
• >$1b
• WINNER! Best Planning Ideas - Large Project, PIA New South Wales Awards for Planning Excellence 2020

In July 2018, the NSW Government announced its first Special Activation Precinct at Parkes, with a 20-year vision for job creation and regional development. Parkes was selected because of its strategic position as the meeting point of the Sydney to Perth / Adelaide railway, and the new Inland Rail from Brisbane to Melbourne.

The Structure Plan is the key outcome of a comprehensive master planning process led by Jensen PLUS. Supported by numerous technical studies, the six-month process hinged on a week-long Enquiry by Design workshop held in Parkes.

Development aspirations unlocked by the planning include creating Australia’s largest inland freight and logistics hub, high-value agribusinesses and manufactured products, Australia’s first UNIDO eco-industrial park, and the nation’s leading circular economy precinct.

The Structure Plan guides land use planning and design, as well as investment in infrastructure including roads, water, electricity, telecommunication, gas and other services. Another objective is to inform the implementation of streamlined planning processes, including the creation of development standards to enable the adoption of exempt and complying development for identified land uses within the Precinct.