Fleet Street Heritage Precinct

15/08/2026

07/08/2026

1920s buildings and older across ‘our’ Cumberland East Campus, downgraded to “moderate significance”, are planned for demolition in the Proposed Rezoning. The Friends of Callan Park opposed residential development infill for many years, and for that matter the WSU Rydalmere campus (in the immaculate Heritage Landscape has excluded all residential and commercial infill.

One of the most powerful parts of this story at Callan Park is the transformation itself.

Built in the early 1920s as part of Australia's first repatriation hospital for returned WWI soldiers, Repatriation Ward B (Building 497) is being carefully restored and adapted for a new purpose.

The heritage building will enter a new chapter as the clubhouse for , honouring its past while serving the community for years to come.

Stay tuned for its transformation!

07/08/2026

https://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/draftplans/made-and-finalised/parramatta-north-precinct?

06/08/2026

Don’t believe the spin. The story hasn’t changed.

Since 2015, the North Parramatta Residents Action Group - NPRAG has been fighting to protect the Parramatta North Heritage Precinct, including the full Cumberland East (Asylum) Campus curtilage.

Sadly, whether it’s a Liberal or Labor Government seems to make little difference. Respect for Parramatta’s nationally and state significant heritage has been consistently lacking.
The Minns Government is promoting this as delivering "20 hectares of open space" - but much of that open space already exists today as part of the heritage precinct. Presenting it as a new public benefit ignores the reality that this historic unique landscape has long been accessible and is central to the significance of the site.

What is new is the proposal to introduce around 2,000 apartments into one of Australia’s most significant heritage precincts. Once this cultural landscape is fundamentally altered, it cannot be restored.

The Minns Government’s actions show that heritage conservation is not being given the priority it deserves. For more than a decade, NPRAG has advocated for a future that respects Parramatta’s extraordinary Aboriginal, colonial and institutional history. That fight continues because our heritage and green space deserves better than political spin it deserves genuine protection.
With the NSW Heritage Minister Penny Sharpe planning to kill off the 1977 Heritage Act and and replace with a more housing focussed Act this government is on fast track to surpass the Askin years.
Paul Scully MP
Steve Kamper
Andrew Charlton MP
Donna Davis MP
Chris Minns
Martin Zaiter
National Trust Australia (NSW)
Australian Institute of Architects, NSW Chapter
AILA NSW Australian Institute of Landscape Architects

33 hectares of the Parramatta North precinct will be transformed into a thriving, mixed-use community adjacent to one of Australia’s most important heritage sites.

27/07/2026

Step Inside Open Sydney - inside Parramatta’s Botanic Garden yet to be protected.

🏛️ Step inside one of Australia's most significant heritage sites this August.

As part of Parramatta Open on Saturday 29 August, the Parramatta North Cultural Precinct will open its doors, offering rare access not usually available to the public.

Explore the historic site of the former Parramatta Female Factory, including the Female Factory Hospital and Third-Class Penitentiary Building, and discover stories that helped shape NSW’s history.

Hosted by Museums of History NSW, Parramatta Open gives members of the public a rare behind the scenes look into our city's architecture and heritage.

🎟️ Book your ticket to Parramatta Open today: https://ow.ly/PuLV50Zt0NO

Sydney Open

20/07/2026

Take this survey - about think about the Botanic Gardens Parramatta needs…

Voucher available

18/07/2026

Lessons for Parramatta on world class city manners, expectations and tourism values !

Florence preserved the historic façade—but transformed almost everything behind it.

Most of the former Teatro Comunale was demolished in 2021 and redeveloped as Teatro Luxury Apartments. Rising behind the surviving façade is a nearly 30-metre-high dark volume that has been widely nicknamed the “Black Cube.”

The project has triggered protests and criticism over its impact on Florence’s historic skyline. UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre is now reviewing whether the redevelopment is compatible with the city’s World Heritage status, while prosecutors are investigating 15 people connected to its approval and construction.

📐 Vittorio Grassi Architects + Genius Loci Architettura

17/07/2026

Lancer Barracks and the New South Wales Lancers Museum is being impacted by the government's divestment program.

We need your support. Is our nation's history important to you?

Will you stand with us to show the importance of Lancer Barracks to our community?

Please share this post and show the government that our history is not for sale.

15/07/2026

About $1 billion in health spending would be saved if Sydneysiders had greater access to more dense tree canopy, a new report by the Committee for Sydney think tank suggests.

The committee has proposed a series of greenways linking Sydney's waterways using council and agency-owned land as ways to plant new canopy and create public space.

📲 Read Declan Bowring’s full story: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-13/one-billion-health-savings-greening-greater-sydney/106901582

14/07/2026

Museums of History NSW launches satellite for Parramatta on Sat Aug 29...!

Museums of History NSW announced the first Parramatta Open, a new one-day event inviting locals and visitors behind the doors of some of Parramatta’s most significant buildings, spaces and hidden places.