Environment

Cooks River to Iron Cove GreenWay

The GreenWay is a vision to link the Cooks River and Iron Cove with a revegetated, alternative transport corridor.

The GreenWay is an environmental corridor extending some five kilometres from the Cooks River at Earlwood in the south, to Iron Cove at Haberfield in the north. The GreenWay corridor passes through Canterbury, Marrickville, Ashfield and Leichhardt Council areas of Sydney's Inner West and incorporates Hawthorne Canal and the Rozelle freight rail corridor. From the Cooks River, the corridor rises gradually to New Canterbury Road and then over a low saddle and into the Hawthorne Canal catchment. The corridor continues north along the freight railway line, and in Summer Hill alongside the tidal sections of Hawthorne Canal, which enters the Parramatta River at Iron Cove. The corridor is traversed by several major roads and rail routes, including Parramatta Road and the City West Link, and the Western and Bankstown rail line. The Rozelle freight corridor weaves under and over these major transport arteries heading north-south, and with Hawthorne Canal, forms the GreenWay corridor.

A colony of Long-nosed Bandicoots (Perameles nasuta) has recently been discovered along the corridor, after an absence of some 40 years. This population has recenlt been declared as an Endangered Population under the Threatened Species Act 1995 NSW. The GreenWay is also home to other significant native flaura and fauna.

GreenWay vision...

"To provide a recognisable, environmental, cultural and non-polluting transport corridor linking the sub-catchments of two pf Sydney's most important waterways..."

The Cooks River to Iron Cove GreenWay is a grass-roots vision by Inner West residents and community groups and also supported by Councils and agencies, including Railcorp, the owners of the rail corridor.

GreenWay Masterplan and Coordination Strategy

The GreenWay Masterplan and Coordination Strategy is the culmination of local efforts over many years in developing an holistic and collaborative approach to managing urban lands - our local "place" and a valuable environmental corridor and its catchment. The Strategy puts forward ideas raised in community consultation as well as drawing on the collaborative experience of the GreenWay Working Group (which consists of Council and community representatives). It is both a "master plan" showing potential concepts to support and guide future urban renewal, and also a strategy to aid in a coordinated approach to land management and community engagement.

The Coordination Strategy was made available for public exhibition during 2009. The GreenWay Working Group is currently reviewing all submissions and revising the document before its final adoption by the GreenWay Working Group and partner Councils.

Downloads:

GreenWay Route Map (179.96 KB)

Draft GreenWay Masterplan and Coordination Strategy (1.30 MB)

Masterplan and Coordination Strategy Flyer (1.36 MB)

GreenWay Sustainability Project

In 2008, Ashfield Council led a group of four local Councils to be awarded $1.83 million for the Cooks River to Iron Cove GreenWay "Making Sustainability Work" Project, funded by the NSW Environmental Trust through its Urban Sustainability Program.

The GreenWay Sustainability Project is focussed on the development of a best-practice model for sustainable management of a public asset - a Greenway - linking the Cooks River and Iron Cove. The aim is to create a corridor providing a habitat for biodiversity, alternative transport options and a focus for community involvement.

The project focusses on the four key areas of governance, sustainability and community engagement, active transport, and biodiversity. Key projects over the next three years include developing communication tools and a website to promote the GreenWay and provide information on urban sustainability, a schools' curriculum project focussed on the GreenWay, launching a GreenWay forum and Festival, developing vegetation guidelines and a Biodiversity Conservation Management Plan, undertaking bushcare work, supporting and resourcing volunteers and liaising with stakeholders and state agencies.

Signage, art and wayfinding will also be installed along the GreenWay to assist people in identifying the route for walking and cycling activities. The project will also include social profiling and transport studies.

Macquarie University has been enagaged as a research partner to develop a best-practice model for the sustainable management of a public asset.

The project is now underway with the four partner Councils - Ashfield Council, City of Canterbury, Leichhardt Council and Marrickville Council. The project concludes on 30 March 2012.

We will be working closely with the community to develop this project. If you would like to find out more about how you can be involved or to receive updates on the project please contact the Project Manager - GreenWay Sustainability Project, Lauren McIver on 9716 1814 or email laurenm@ashfield.nsw.gov.au.

This program has been assisted by the New South Wales Government through its Environmental Trust