Local jobs delivered through the Sydney Plan must be our focus

THE North West Business Chamber says delivering local jobs must be the primary focus as the NSW Government begins implementing the new Sydney Plan released on August 13, 2026.

The Chamber welcomes the NSW Government’s commitment to planning jobs, housing and infrastructure together. Riverstone West, now known as Richards, provides an ideal demonstration precinct for translating the Sydney Plan’s vision into practical and lasting outcomes for the North West Growth Area.

The Chamber welcomes the significant infrastructure investment now being delivered by the State and Federal governments.

After years of extraordinary population growth, the North West is finally benefiting from meaningful investment in roads, new and upgraded schools, additional commuter parking at Tallawong and the long-awaited Rouse Hill Hospital.

With around 300,000 people ultimately expected to call the North West Growth Area home, infrastructure investment must now be matched by an equally strong and immediate commitment to substantial local employment.

Local jobs must be treated as essential economic infrastructure not an optional addition to residential growth.

Riverstone has a proud history of local employment. Established by Benjamin Richards in 1878, the Riverstone Meatworks became one of the region’s largest employers, providing more than 2,000 jobs at its peak.

The meatworks helped shape Riverstone, supporting workers’ housing, local businesses, schools and community services. The Chamber believes Richards can continue that legacy through a modern precinct providing professional, technical, health, education, commercial and service-sector employment.

Local jobs would give more residents the opportunity to work within approximately 15 minutes of home, easing congestion and returning valuable time to workers and their families.

The former Riverstone Meatworks, now known as Richards, was fast-tracked in 2009 as the employment precinct for the North West Growth Area but remains undelivered.

Located beside the T1 heavy rail line, the precinct has the potential to support up to 20,000 jobs.

Better infrastructure will improve people’s lives, but its full value will never be realised without substantial local employment to support a balanced, connected and economically sustainable community.

“Every additional lane on Windsor Road and Richmond Road will eventually fill if our population continues growing without local employment growing alongside it,” Kurt Hippe Chamber Vice President said.

“The same applies to trains and commuter car parks. Better transport is vital, but we must also reduce the need for thousands of residents to make long journeys away from their homes every day.”

They would also strengthen the local economy. Residents working nearby are more likely to shop locally, use local services and support cafés, retailers and small businesses, keeping more household income circulating within their local community.

“Transport should connect our residents with the rest of Sydney, but success should not be measured only by how quickly we can move people out of the North West each morning to find work,”

“Richards gives the North West the opportunity to create jobs here, use existing rail and road infrastructure more effectively and build a more balanced community.”
The Chamber is calling for government, Council, industry and the community to work together on a clear delivery pathway for Richards.

“The infrastructure investment is arriving, and we welcome it,” the Chamber said. “The Sydney Plan must now help deliver the local jobs that will sustain our growing communities.

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