Bardwell Valley Regional Park and Green Link

The Bardwell Valley and Wolli Creek bushland is currently owned by a variety of government stakeholders including NSW Transport and Sydney Water and managed by the NPWS.

The St George Greens call on the Federal and State governments to hand over full control of the entirety of the bush in the valley to the NPWS and local volunteer groups as promised in 1998 and to fund the Plan of Management devised in 2004 so Sydney residents can easily visit the valley, access its green spaces and enjoy recreational and educational activities within it.

The long term goals of such a Regional Park would be to provide a vital green space in Southern Sydney, in addition to these select goals from the Plan of Management:

  • Ensure that the Park’s design and facilities reflect the needs of the diverse local and regional community.Improved environmental and recreational links to adjoining urban areas
  • Conserve and interpret the Park’s rich Aboriginal and European cultural heritage
  • Importance of linear East-West movement through the Park but acknowledging the site’s sensitive environments which may determine a variety of approaches and opportunities
  • Create a recreational focus for the park that has at its core the enjoyment and educational benefits of the sites natural values
  • Expectations that the park will be safe and enjoyable to use without polluting impacts from ventilation outlets
  • Potential for wider recreational access and use of the park via public transport
  • Potential for the Park to have a strong educational and interpretation role
  • Ensuring that recreational facilities are sited in appropriate settings within the Park
  • Increased focus on access to and enjoyment of the creek itself through paths, informal canoe launching sites etc
  • Continuation of the M5 Linear Park cycleway from where it currently ends at Bexley North through to Tempe in order to finish crucial regional cycle routes as density in the area increases and traffic becomes an even greater issue than it currently is for existing on road cycle routes.