23-230307-FINAL-Camden-Green-and-Blue-Grid-Vision-April-2023-Version-for-webpage - Flipbook - Page 26
Camden Council
Aspirations for each Settlement Area
In establishing the way forward for the Camden Green and Blue Grid, the Analysis considered the unique landscape characteristics of four distinct
settlement areas (Rural, Established Urban, New Urban and Future Urban). These areas are at different stages of urban development and growth,
which present both opportunities and challenges for delivering a healthy, connected, accessible and sustainable local Green and Blue Grid.
A summary of the Green and Blue Grid priorities for each area is outlined in Table 1. Notably, urban development and residential growth will be achieved
within urban areas in order to protect, maintain and enhance Camden's Metropolitan Rural Area (MRA).
Table 1: Green and Blue Grid priorities by area
Rural
Established Urban
Rural Areas are characterised
by large agricultural land
holdings used for farming
operations and rural living.
They also contain natural areas being
preserved for their environmental
conservation values. Council will work with
landowners to help improve Green
and Blue Grid connections.
Suburbs such as Mount Annan, Narellan, Narellan Vale, Harrington Park, Camden
South and Camden form the Established Urban Area of Camden LGA. They
typically include suburbs with low and medium density housing with established
retail shopping centres, sporting fields, schools, community centres and parks.
The priority for Green and Blue Grid projects
within the Rural Area is to protect and
enhance existing trees and farm dams and
to reconnect fragmented vegetation and
biodiversity corridors along creeks and
within bushland. Rivers and creeks along
rural land offer a valuable source of water
that can protect and enhance soil fertility,
crop growth and farming practices such
as irrigation. Investigating the possibility
of better connecting the Nepean River to
rural and agricultural land in the north-west
portion of the Camden LGA will also be
important.
There is opportunity to enhance the
community’s access to the Green and
Blue Grid in Rural Areas by providing key
recreation activities such as bush walking
and mountain bike trails through bushland
and a riverside walk along the Nepean River.
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The Established Urban Areas tend to have established urban Town Centres with varying degrees of
tree canopy cover, gardens and landscaped areas. The Green and Blue Grid within the Established
Urban Area over time has been modified in the absence of a strategic and holistic approach to
managing the network, creating fragmentation and a lack of connectivity.
Established Urban Areas would benefit from a significant reintroduction of the Green and Blue
Grid. This could include incorporating urban forests, tree-lined streets, and working to improve the
health of rivers, creeks, lakes and other bodies of water. A focus on reinstating the natural flow of
water and linkages between river and creek systems, returning them to a more natural state, will
enhance waterway health. It will also increase opportunities for the community to connect with these
waterways, seeing and physically interacting with rivers and creeks from new vantage points. Equally,
it will be important to protect and retain existing bushland and open spaces within the established
areas.
There are opportunities to create a continuous open space corridor along the Nepean River to provide
new recreational opportunities for the community. Camden and Narellan Town Centres can be better
connected to the areas immediately surrounding them by creating more tree lined paths and streets.
This will deliver a series of loops and links from the places people live and work to shops, schools and
public transport connections and offer people multiple travel routes to key destinations. Ultimately,
the goal will be to improve the east and west green links between the Nepean River and South Creek
and the green links between commercial and residential areas and Town Centres.