Content about Municipality of Strathfield

Strathfield’s leading position in the inner west as a commercial and transport hub has prompted a council move to seek city status  – a significant step in ensuring the area’s assets are fully recognised.

Higher-density residential development along Parra-matta Road, increased building heights at the Town Centre, a food hub next to Sydney Markets and new business parks to attract jobs are among the highlights of Strathfield’s plans for the next decade, which went on show this month.

The town square is to be reclassified to allow for events like weekend markets, while a mixed business and residential area is proposed in Homebush, north of the railway station.

This weekend marks an important milestone for Strathfield.

It will see the first in a series of big events designed to transform Sydney’s view of the municipality – and hopefully position it as one of the movers and shakers of the inner-west.

It is, in effect, the launch of Brand Strathfield. Expect to hear much more of this in the coming weeks.

Strathfield Mayor Cr Paul Barron has slammed “mischievous rumours” suggesting the council wanted to develop the town square after business owners opposed a rezoning plan.

Strathfield’s best and brightest received their HSC results this week – and many of our top schools were represented in the all round achievers’ list for 2011.

Girls scored particularly well, receiving two thirds of the first-in-course positions. The split between public school and private school students was about 50-50, according to Board of Studies president Tom Alegounarias.

Boys, however, topped the table in highest tertiary rankings - of the 49 who achieved 99.95 , 30 were boys.

Mayors and general managers from Strathfield, Burwood and Ashfield Councils met with Strathfield MP, Charles Casuscelli at the inaugural Inner West’s Local Government Engagement Forum.

Casuscelli declared the meeting a success and said they had agreed to meet again.

On the agenda were major issues which affect all three local government areas.

Major roads and infrastructure projects such as the M4 East and Port Enfield, traffic congestion on Parramatta Road and the Strathfield Town Centre were also slated for discussion.

What do you see as the main challenges for the year ahead?

There are three major items in the coming 12 months that are of great importance to our area: the Strathfield Town Centre Project, release of the Local Environment Plan (LEP) and getting Strathfield a fully functioning police station.

I’m also passionate about cycling, and plan to raise the idea of introducing bike lanes. I’m not proposing to close roads but for there to be markings to indicate possible bike routes in the area.

Strathfield will receive $400,000 from the state government as part of the 2011 Community Building Partnership program.

Premier of NSW Barry O’Farrell announced the program today, which will allow community groups to request funding for building and improving community infrastructure.

The state government is allocating $35 million to the initiative which means $300,000 is available for each electorate.

As a local resident and a proud reporter for my area, attending council meetings is the best way for me to learn more about what’s going on in the community.

So to my dismay at this month’s meeting, the issue of parking in Strathfield was on the agenda, which admittedly, is a very sore subject for me.

Yes, this blog is a confession. I am one of the offenders who parks on the neighbouring streets surrounding the station to catch the train to work.

Liberal Charles Casuscelli has emerged victorious as the new member for Strathfield, after promising better transport, policing and planning and running a strong campaign on local issues.

Casuscelli, a transport expert, is expected to be a valuable asset in Barry O'Farrell's new goverment, as his expertise in managing major projects will be in high demand.

He has held a number of senior executive appointments in the public and private sectors, and  has his own business in operations and logistics consulting.

Mark Sharma,
 Independent candidate 
for Strathfield

“The public transport system has deteriorated a lot under the present Labor Government. The people in the Inner West and especially Strathfield have been the biggest losers of bad Labor policies. Labor blew $150 million on the failed Metro Project and another $150 million on duplication of the Iron Cove Bridge. None of this has produced any improvement whatsoever.