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Open spaces: Warriewood Valley

Case study name: Warriewood Valley

Introduction

Warriewood Valley is a 110 hectare land release in Sydney’s Northern Beaches area in which a range of commercial and residential development is planned. Open space is an integral part of the plan for this site, with the provision of a two hectare district park and a number of smaller neighbourhood parks, as well as a comprehensive network of walking and cycling paths that follow the restored creekline corridors within the site. These multi-use pathways will be integrated with the surrounding area, and will support active living by encouraging people to walk and cycle to local destinations – both within and outside the release area.

As well as enhancing connectivity and providing pedestrian/cycling access to services and facilities, the creekline corridor paths will encourage active living in their own right. The paths are attractive, well designed and of high quality, and as such will be a means for people to access and enjoy the open space that is close to their homes. Residents and visitors can walk or cycle along the level paths and experience the newly created parks and open space, as well as the area’s natural diverse vegetation of coastal dunes, wetlands, swamp, eucalypt and angophora forest.

Description and context


The Warriewood Valley land release area is an infill development area occupying a large outer urban site. The 110 hectare site is located in Sydney’s Northern Beaches area, approximately 24 kilometres from the CBD. The site lies to the west of Pittwater Road and south of Mona Vale Road. The established suburbs of Mona Vale, North Narrabeen and Elanora Heights lie to the north east, south and south-west respectively. The site is surrounded by high-value natural open space, including a forested escarpment to the west, and Warriewood Wetlands and Narrabeen Lakes to the south.

Development on the Warriewood Valley site will be a mix of residential and light industrial/commercial uses. The housing forms being provided include traditional, single detached housing on individual lots, attached dwellings, multi-unit housing, integrated housing, and a development for seniors or people with a disability, which consists of 260 apartments, a community centre and a 119 bed residential aged care centre.

It is expected that development in the valley will add around 1,900 dwellings and 5,300 additional residents to the Pittwater Local Government Area by 2012.

Design process

The planning process to facilitate urban development in the Warriewood Valley area commenced in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The rezoning of parts of the northern and southern end of the Valley for industrial and commercial development, with a small component of land zoned for medium density residential development, was effected in the mid 1980s. These early rezonings were referred to as the Warriewood Valley Stage One Release Area. The remaining non-urban areas of the Warriewood Valley were assessed for their urban potential in conjunction with the Ingleside-Warriewood land release investigation.

Pittwater Council completed a strategy for the release of the remaining land in Warriewood Valley in 1995 and the Minister for Urban Affairs and Planning announced a restricted land release of land zoned ‘non-urban’ in the Warriewood Valley in 1997. On this basis the area was included in the State Government's Urban Development Program (later named the Metropolitan Development Program) as an urban land release area.

The planning strategy for the area is Pittwater Council's Warriewood Valley Urban Land Release Draft Planning Framework, which was prepared in the mid 1990s. The valley has been divided into various sectors to achieve orderly development. Land within some of the sectors in the valley has been rezoned and is being developed for housing by various developers, in accordance with the approved sector masterplans. In other sectors, land is in the process of being rezoned for residential and industrial/commercial uses. Infrastructure that is required in the Valley as a result of the urban development is being provided from developer contributions under Pittwater Council's Warriewood Valley Section 94 Contributions Plan. As at December 2007, Council had managed $22.7 million dollars of infrastructure since July 2000.

The Warriewood Valley Open Space and Cycleway Section 94 Strategy promotes cycling, walking and public transport, and states that the network should be planned to minimise reliance on the use of private motor vehicles. Each development sector is to provide safe and convenient walking and cycling connections to adjoining sectors, and to adjacent areas of open space, services and other facilities. Connectivity within each sector is required to ensure the majority of dwellings are within 400 metres walking distance to bus stops. The Strategy specifies that all road construction or reconstruction within the release area must be designed and constructed so as to provide accommodation for cyclists and pedestrians. In access streets and lanes the abutting landuse and landscaping is to dominate, with traffic speeds and volumes low and pedestrian and cycle movements and connectivity facilitated.

The Section 94 Strategy was a highly commended project in the 2006 Parks and Leisure Australia Planning Awards.

Evaluation

The Warriewood Valley development encourages and enables active living in a number of ways. It is a good example of how a number of the design considerations set out in the ‘Open space’ section of Designing Places for Active Living can be put into practice. These include:

  • Provide open space within safe, comfortable walking distance from dwellings, as well as in or adjacent to key destinations, such as town centres.

The planned large district park will be located on the creek near the western boundary of the site, and will be surrounded by medium density housing (i.e. approx 25 dwellings per hectare). This means this large area of open space will be easily and immediately accessible to many residents. Three smaller neighbourhood parks are located in other parts of the development, with others planned as development proceeds. All these parks will be within safe, comfortable walking distance from dwellings, and will feature high quality landscaping, children’s play equipment, seating and shade.

The district park is also adjacent to the proposed neighbourhood centre and retail facilities located at the intersection of Garden and Macpherson Streets, which is a key local destination.

In addition to the provision of parkland open space, a key feature of the site is the network of multi-functional living ‘creekline corridors’ that are being provided on Narrabeen Creek, Fern Creek and Mullet Creek. The multi-use accessways utilise the creeklines and linear open space land corridors to form a comprehensive pedestrian and cycle network throughout the Warriewood Valley. As well as serving multiple environmental purposes, these creekline corridors will provide direct and convenient cyclist and pedestrian access to a range of destinations within and outside the release area. They will also link the development to significant surrounding areas of natural open space, such as the Warriewood escarpment, Warriewood Wetlands and Narrabeen Lagoon.

These paths will encourage active living not just by providing access to various local facilities but also by enabling people to access and enjoy the natural areas close to their homes. Residents and visitors can experience and learn about Pittwater's natural diverse vegetation of coastal dunes, wetlands, swamp forest, eucalypt and angophora forest and headlands.

  • Connect public open space to the local and regional walking and cycling network with safe pedestrian crossings leading to or near park entrances.

The linear open space provided by the multi-use creekline corridor paths will enable people to walk or cycle rather than drive to facilities and destinations within their local neighbourhood. The walking and cycling paths have been built to link local facilities, including playgrounds and sporting grounds, residential and industrial sectors, local schools (Mater Maria, Narrabeen Sports High and North Narrabeen Primary), and nearby shops including Warriewood Centro. The creek corridors are accompanied by a variety of access infrastructure that provides connectivity for the entire release area. Access infrastructure to be provided includes four road bridges/culverts, and twelve pedestrian/cycleway bridges.

Pedestrian/cycling links from the Warriewood Valley development area are provided across Jacksons Road, Warriewood Road, Macpherson Street and Garden Street to the established residential areas and schools. Paths run the lengths of Garden Street and Warriewood Road, along Pittwater Road between Jacksons Road and Warriewood Road, and are proposed for Macpherson Street, linking the Valley to Narrabeen Lagoon and North Narrabeen, to the Warriewood Cinema, the Pittwater Rugby Park and its ‘park and ride’ facilities.

Boardwalks run from various areas in the Valley through Warriewood Wetlands, providing access to shops at Centro Warriewood and also along Mullet Creek to the waterfall and coastal escarpment area via Irrawong Road. The boardwalks are part of a network of paths being developed. A proposed fire trail along the lower slopes of the escarpment to the west of Warriewood Valley will provide additional access and recreational opportunities.

  • Encourage active recreation through the provision of a range of well-designed facilities such as children's play equipment, basketball rings, cricket practice nets, netball courts and tennis courts.

The three neighbourhood parks provide children’s play equipment, seating and shade structures, encouraging parents and carers to access these facilities with their children.

The creekline walking/cycle path along Narrabeen Creek provides direct access to the existing range of sporting facilities at Jacksons Road. These include soccer fields and the Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre, which has multi-purpose courts with facilities for netball, basketball, indoor soccer and volleyball. Also located on Jacksons Road is the Senior Citizens’ centre which provides a range of active recreation opportunities for older people (such as tai chi, pilates and dance classes). The planned district park will provide additional sporting and active recreational opportunities.

  • Create and maintain attractive and pleasant places for people to walk, cycle, train, sit, meet and talk.

As well as providing access to a range of destinations within and outside the valley, the multi-use paths along the creek corridors provide an attractive form of recreation in their own right. The pathways are set in attractive open space corridors and parks with high landscape and environmental value. Their construction is of high quality and they are well lit with vandal-resistant solar lighting.

The neighbourhood parks provide attractive and pleasant places for people to gather. They include high-quality street furniture, seating, solar lighting and shade structures, and are pleasant places for parents and carers to meet, sit and talk while children play.

  • Promote safety and amenity through good design, such as drought-resistant shade trees, natural surveillance from surrounding uses, seating, lighting and clear and convenient entry points.

The design and siting of dwellings adjoining the walking and cycling paths is planned to help maintain the safety and personal security of people using the path by permitting casual survelliance of the corridors. Dwellings will front onto creekline corridors to incorporate these spaces into the living environment and facilitate surveillance, and also to prevent isolation and degradation. Shelters, bridges and recreational opportunities besides playground areas will feature strongly. Paths and parks are lit with solar lighting. High quality seating and other street furniture is provided at appropriate locations. Drought-resistant shade trees will be among the 12,000 trees that will eventually be planted on this site.

  • Cluster compatible land uses within or at the edge of parks or open space corridors, such as cafes and restaurants, child care centres and indoor leisure/sports centres. This will help reduce the land required for parking and improve accessibility.

The district park is adjacent to the proposed neighbourhood centre and retail facilities located at the intersection of Garden and Macpherson Streets, which will help reduce the land required for parking and improve accessibility. Garden and Macpherson Streets, are also used as a local bus route, meaning that the district park is easily accessible by public transport.

Project participants

  • Pittwater Council
  • Department of Urban Affairs and Planning (now Department of Planning)
  • Developers: various, including Australand, Stockland, Clarendon, Anglican Retirement Villages
  • Masterplanners: various – masterplans are drawn up by the developers’ consultants.

Project summary

Warriewood Valley is a mixed use development area, in which there will be a mix of different housing forms, as well as industrial and commercial development. The development features high quality public open space, including a large district park and a number of smaller neighbourhood parks and playgrounds. A key feature of the site is the restoration of multiple creekline corridors, and the use of these as linked pedestrian and cycle paths. These multi-use creekline paths enable and promote active living, not just by providing residents with a means to access local services and facilities by bicycle or on foot, but also because they are an attractive feature in their own right, which will encourage residents to use them for recreation.

Getting there

Further information

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