Parramatta City Council

A Place Manager’s role is to get strategic results and coordinate key projects and initiatives in the city centre and neighbourhood centres to achieve the best outcomes.

In practical terms, this means that members of the Place Management team:

Integrate all of the Council’s services and resources, focusing on the Parramatta City Centre and key neighbourhood centres such as Epping, Granville and Westmead
Build strategic partnerships between Council, Property Owners and local businesses, agencies and community groups

At each key centre, Place Managers prioritise the issues facing the centre, and focus on those that are one or more of the following:

Complex
Political
Strategic
Imperative

The goal is to achieve a ‘strategic plan destination statement’, a blueprint that will accurately reflect the needs and aspirations of the people in that local community.

Why focus on key centres?

Place Managers are outcome focused. They expect to see real community benefits for their hard work, so they focus on key centres that need help. These centres tend to impact a broad range of individuals and neighbourhoods, so by making the key centres the focus of their efforts, Place Managers can help a maximum number of people and achieve a range of integrated outcomes.

In general, the key centres in which Place Managers work are often going through major changes, such as:

Increasing population density
Property owners wishing to undertake large-scale developments
Future plans or potential for Council-owned property
Changes to transport and railway interchange locations

Any of these activities or changes carried out on their own can create chaos in the community. It is the role of the Place Manager to integrate all major changes – and the way they are managed – so that they work together and bring tangible benefits to the community.

Currently key centres include the Parramatta City Centre as an ongoing place of significance as well as Granville, Epping and Westmead.

Better Neighbourhood Program

The Better Neighbourhood Program (BNP) includes urban renewal initiatives and upgrades to the public domain (or streetscape) of key centres throughout the City of Parramatta. The upgrades include new paving and street furniture to improve the visual amenity of the area for the benefit of local business and the community. The aim of the program is to deliver high quality, attractive, distinctive and viable neighbourhood centres each with a sense of local identity.
The BNP is funded through a special rate.
Works at the following centres have been completed or are underway:

Guildford
Granvile
Harris Park
Iron Street North Parramatta
Betty Cuthbert, Ermington
Dellwood Shops