The Wakehurst Parkway Flood Improvement project has had a long history. Click on the tabs below to learn more about the different community consultation phases of the project, and for more information on the funding arrangement and state and local government interface.

Snapshot

Council’s flood improvement program is being undertaken on Wakehurst Parkway (a state asset) on behalf of the NSW Government.

Details

The NSW Government is funding 100 per cent of the council-managed flood improvement project with $31.1 million to deliver the work, which includes:

• $5 million from the NSW Government’s Stronger Communities Fund
• $26.1 million from Transport for NSW in two stages - its initial $13.1 million committed in 2021 and the further 2023 election commitment of $13.0 million that was approved in January 2024.

We have negotiated funding to ensure there is minimal risk to ratepayers to fund works.

The impacts of funding approvals, changes to the Beaches Link Tunnel program, and the introduction of Transport’s proposed program have all impacted the progress of flood management works. However, we now have a strong partnership with Transport to optimise both parties' efforts and resources when working on essential upgrades for the road.

The design and environmental assessments for the culvert upgrades at Wakehurst Parkway, Oxford Falls, near Oxford Falls School have been designed and now this work and future construction will be undertaken by Transport as part of their traffic and safety project.

Following an options assessment, options for The Bends were refined by an expert group and improved designs are being progressed which will see a further reduction in flooding with a better environmental outcome. The design of the improvements at The Bends also considers the praticalities of construction which will need to be agreed with Transport in order to ensure traffic impacts are minimised. Once the designs are resolved, environmental assessments will be completed, which could be lengthy due to the requirements of NSW legislation.

Our project aims to reduce the frequency of flooding at four locations - Oxford Falls Road West, Wakehurst Parkway at Oxford Falls, The Bends, and the Sydney Academy of Sport. The draft Wakehurst Parkway Flood Mitigation Feasibility Study (draft feasibility study) was completed with grant funding through the NSW Government Stronger Communities Fund to explore options to help protect the road from flooding and was publicly exhibited in 2021.

The outcomes of earlier phases of community consultation are available to read in the Community Engagement Report that was submitted to Council in March 2022.