Plans unveiled to breathe new life into Sydney's Bank Street Park

Plans to transform Sydney's Bank Street Park in Pyrmont, beneath the ANZAC Bridge, into a green, harbourside public domain have been unveiled.

Designed by landscape architect Oculus with Collins and Turner, Greenshoot Consulting and Greenaway Architects, a highlight of the park's design is better access to Blackwattle Bay through the establishment of a new public pontoon and several other water ingress points.

A 15-kilometre harbourside walk between Woolloomooloo and Rozelle Bay has been proposed for the 1-hectare site, along with a new cycleway, a playground, a multipurpose sporting court, fitness equipment, a storage area for personal paddle craft, a new community building with a cafe and marina office, a viewing deck, and public art displays to honour the First Nations custodians of the land.

Plans state that the planting strategy will involve "species that would once have occurred naturally on the Pyrmont peninsula," with plants of a self-sustaining nature selected for minimum maintenance. A green roof has been proposed for the community building, as well as the adaptive reuse of existing building ruins to form an "intepretation garden."

The proposed park is part of a wider mixed-use precinct to be developed in Blackwattle Bay, which will see the construction of more than 1,200 new homes and the relocation of the Sydney Fish Market, designed by Danish practice 3XN and its innovation arm GXN, in partnership with BVN and Aspect Studios. The precinct was rezoned in December 2022 to facilitate the new mixed-use community.

The NSW minister for lands and property, Steve Kamper, said that the waterfront park will be a wonderful asset to the community. "I am proud to reveal the design of Bank Street Park today, which involved close collaboration with First Nations representatives, the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, and Black Diggers, which is of special significance given its connection to the ANZAC Bridge," Kamper said.

Member for Sydney Alex Greenwich said the Bank Street Park will ensure that Sydney Harbour is more accessible for leisure activities, including private paddle craft, walking and cycling.