Campsie RSL Group has embarked on an exciting new journey to build a new club, a new multipurpose precinct and a new vibrant centre for Campsie.
Our vision is to develop a contemporary venue that accommodates people of all ages, a venue that truly highlights our rich and culturally diverse landscape.
Campsie RSL Group lodged the Planning Proposal for the redevelopment of the new Campsie RSL in late 2015, which followed a period of extensive planning and community consultation. The submitted plan proposes an expanded club facility, high rise residential apartments and seniors living, specialty shops, a medical centre, childcare facility and fitness centre, as well as basement car parking.
For more about the proposed development of Campsie RSL Group, visit our project website here
A New Community Precinct for Campsie
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A modern social hub with expanded club facilities, bars, restaurants and entertainment offerings
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A state of the art fitness centre offering the latest in gym equipment, fitness classes and aquatic facilities
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An independent and active residential apartment village for local residents and seniors
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A professional childcare centre for up to 90 local children and a learn to swim program
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A specialty shop and retail hub with easy access to Campise Railway Station, ANZAC Park and Beamish Street
The spiritual foundation of our club, the Campsie RSL Sub-Branch, was established on 10 September 1928. However at this time we were a club without a home – we had no physical location for our members to meet or work.
It was a clear sense of community and service to country that fuelled the creation of our club.
With dedication, it took 22 years of passionate, tireless work and fundraising from community members to eventually purchase an army hut, which served as our club’s home until 1950.
In 1951 at the first Annual General Meeting we had a total of 60 members. The Club was run by volunteer labour until 1955.
After many more extensions the club as we know it today was opened on 13 December 1969.
Over the years there have been many changes to our club, but our commitment to the Campsie community has never faltered. Campsie RSL is a proud part of the diverse and thriving community of Campsie and supports a number of local charities, schools and organisations.
We are inspired by our past roots and proud tradition and look forward to continuing to deliver a vibrant future.
For more than 86 years we have played an integral role in our community and we hope that today and for many days in the future, we can continue to preserve this spirit of service, charity and community.
Campsie is now considered the largest commercial and administrative centre of the City of Canterbury, located just 13 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, on the southern bank of the Cooks River.
While the Campsie community has come quite far, there is still some work to be done to move us into the future.
When the club was first established Beamish Street was still a dirt track, electric train services had been running in the area for just two years and the world was yet to go through the Great Depression.
From an area that was once mostly bushland the suburb of Campsie has changed. Our busy and bustling local economy is now primarily industrial, with strengths in manufacturing as well as wholesale and retail trade.
Our relative proximity to the Sydney CBD and access to transportation infrastructure has always helped define who we are as a community – a metropolitan, diverse, skilled, multilingual and vibrant community, with an enviable lifestyle, close to community services and facilities.
Our community is recognised as one of the most culturally, socially and economically diverse communities in Sydney. We are also continually growing and have a significant ageing population.
The current Campsie community offers a diverse range of retail shopping and community services. With a renewed shopping centre and an array of available services, our busy centre with its rich cultural identity, has the potential to be a strong economic driver for the greater Canterbury area.
As our community and people evolve, so will the community of Campsie and that means planning for the future and ensuring that we can continue to put the community first.
Today our Club has more than 11,000 members, with new faces visiting us every day. We hope that the proposed plans for our club reflect our community and our membership – building a future foundation and downtown destination for Campsie. We have a vision to develop a contemporary venue that accommodates people of all ages – a hub that truly highlights our rich and culturally diverse landscape.
The very foundation of who we are and why we exist is service – service to our nation and service to the community.
Campsie RSL is a not for profit organisation that supports the local Campsie community. Giving back to the community is in every local club’s DNA – it’s the reason why clubs exist and why they thrive. Our club contributes to a variety of local initiatives each and every year.
One of the founding reasons our club is undertaking this project is to enable us to give back more to the community and to create a vibrant destination for Campsie.
In the spirit of our original legacy, we’ve been proud to contribute more than $400,000 annually to support local community schools, sporting teams, charities and groups.
Our recent projects and initiatives in support of the Campsie community and other charities have included:
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assistance to enable more players to take to the field for Belmore Eagles Soccer Club
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donation of $5,000 to seven local schools who participated in an ANZAC centenary project with an overall contribution of more than $35,000
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sponsorship of Belmore Boys High Elite Football program
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support for the Salvation Army NSW Bushfire Appeal
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funding of Karitane to allow them to establish a project titled, ‘Engaging Fathers’
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donations to local non-profit organisations as part of the annual ClubGRANTS program
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support for Careflight’s work in the community
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support for the sight saving work of the Macular Disease Foundation Australia
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funding of a Help2Help Cambodian tour, providing community donations of children’s clothing and optical frames for kids in remote villages in Cambodia
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funding places for 1,310 students in the Yourtutor.
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The vision for the club’s redevelopment will allow the club to grow, continue to contribute to the community and plan a vibrant future for Campsie.
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We’ll continue to support local community groups and we are eager to significantly increase our local community support and contributions following our redevelopment.
Our site is conveniently located in the centre of Campsie, within the Canterbury Local Government Area. We are in close proximity and easy walking distance to Campsie train station, ANZAC square and the Beamish Street retail strip.
Specifically, the club’s land – in which we are exploring options to develop – is bound by Lilian Street to the north, Deward Street to the east, ANZAC Square and Anglo Road to the south and Anglo Road to the west. The landholdings are all held in the single ownership of the Campsie RSL Sub-Branch Club Limited.
ANZAC Park is located opposite the club and is a focal point of community life with its playground, mature shade trees and lawn providing a green oasis that defines the character of the Campsie community. The proposed development of our club would not jeopardise the amenity of ANZAC park or its historical significance.
Our club is ideally located to become a new vibrant downtown destination for our community and we envisage that the club’s development might initiate future growth and positive development for the area of Campsie.
Campsie RSL will make every effort to ensure the character and features of the area are maintained when considering the design and options for our site.
“Campsie town centre, at the heart of Canterbury, will continue to attract people from across Sydney with its vibrant mix of cultures and lively main street shopping. It will also continue to meet the daily needs of a growing ethnically diverse neighbourhood, with the texture of the main street to be retained, protecting essential commercial and employment opportunities.”
– Canterbury Town Centre Report, City of Canterbury Council.
The traditional RSL club was a place for camaraderie over a beer, a place to meet and share a story. After more than 45 years with our club as we know it today, it’s time for us to explore options for a future club.
It is important that we once again use the same insight and vision that our forefathers did 87 years ago and plan strategically for our club and the community going forward.
As the community around us has evolved, we’re planning changes to ensure that our contribution to our community stays relevant. Across the past decade Campsie RSL has undergone various internal renovations and updates, however given today’s standards and our position as an important community hub, our current club has significant room for growth and diversity.
With your help, we can create a vibrant downtown destination for the Campsie community. Our vision is to create a sustainable social precinct with mixed uses, for people of all ages.
That’s why our proposed development will complement the character of the local area and match the demand for local services by delivering a new Master Plan that may combine:
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shopping
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aquatic and fitness
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childcare
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medical services
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residential apartment living
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new and expanded club facilities
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improved public car parking.
Like so many other RSL clubs around Australia, Campsie RSL want to secure its future financial environment and we see this opportunity as a positive move toward that goal for both members and the local Campsie community.
This proposed development will allow the club to grow, continue to contribute to the community and plan a vibrant future for Campsie.
We’re undertaking this project to enable us to continue to give back more to the community and to create a contemporary, multi-purpose destination for members and guests.
Registered Clubs as we know them are unique to Australia and play an important role in our way of life. Clubs are community owned organisations that aim to deliver the needs of the community and offer a hub in which local people gather. Profits which are generated through club activities are then used to further support our community in which we operate – the Campsie community.
To this end, clubs must adapt to remain relevant to their community and we are partnering with the Campsie community to ask them what our club should be and what services it should deliver.
Building on a base of community need and creating a plan for our club that blends a diverse mix of ages and demographics is vital. We want the plan to retain our original spirit of the club and use this spirit to build a venue that is relevant to today’s society and sustainable for future generations.
The plan for the new Campsie RSL is to develop a truly inter-generational community precinct – a social hub with services for all ages, from childcare and family dining through to exercise classes, retail and residential living.
This would be the new Campsie RSL, a venue that consistently puts the community first, remains not for profit and results in a stronger economy, more employment for local people and benefits for the entire Campsie community.
The proposed redevelopment of Campsie RSL aims to provide the Campsie community with improved facilities, greater access to child care, local services and improved parking.
The redevelopment would bring a great deal of economic and social benefit to the Campsie community, creating more jobs and injecting more money per year into the local economy.
In the spirit of our original legacy, Campsie RSL currently contributes more than $400,000 annually to support local community groups and the club is eager to significantly increase this local community contribution following its redevelopment.
The new Campsie RSL will positively impact elements for the community including:
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The Economy
The redevelopment of Campsie RSL will mean an economic boom for Campsie, including an increase in local jobs and wages for local people each year.
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Health & Wellbeing
According to research into principles for living communities, a combination of physical and social elements such as the plan for Campsie RSL, create a sense of place and belonging which helps encourage a better wellbeing.
In addition international research states that, “to create a socially inclusive community [you must] design places that cater for multiple uses and which encourage active lifestyles and social inclusion”.
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Families
The importance of community areas are being increasingly recognised because the wellbeing of families is closely tied to where they live, the quality of their neighbourhoods and the commons in which people interact and share experiences.
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Children
A study into early child care and youth development has found that Australian children who have experienced time in long day care have greater social skills, independence and are often more advanced in their developmental levels than other children.
The provision of professional childcare can have long term beneficial effects on children and can benefit local families with young children.
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Community Support
As Campsie RSL is a not for profit organisation, profits from the business are used to support local community groups and individuals in need.
Last year alone the club provided more than $400,000 in community support and plans to significantly increase this support following redevelopment.
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Mental Health
Social inclusion is about being able to participate in and contribute to a society and strong evidence suggests that participation in places such as Registered Clubs improves mental health, self-determination and general functioning.
On a broader level it reduces discrimination and stigmatisation
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Environment
The opportunity now exists to build sustainable and environmentally friendly infrastructures which utilise modern technology and reduce our carbon footprint and energy use. This will lessen the impact of the club on the local environment.
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Seniors
Factors such as retirement, ill health or loss of a partner can lean to social isolation and it is important for older people to remain connected and participate in community life.
With the potential for the new Campsie RSL to include residential apartments for seniors and a medical centre, the development would have a significant impact on access to support services and improved facilities for seniors in the local community.
In order to consider options for expanded uses and facilities on the Campsie RSL site, the master plan will require potential changes to the zoning, height and floor space controls that currently apply to the land under the Canterbury LEP (Local Environmental Plan) 2012.
With the full support of the Club’s Executive Committee, we’ve been working on this project since late 2014, undertaking investigations to determine the site’s suitability and development potential.
These investigations confirmed that the site can support an expanded range of uses and these would be economically viable on the site.
Since engaging a multi-disciplinary team, the club has been working with consultants to explore options for the design and built form of a new precinct on the site.
Community consultation will identify the preferred master plan for the club that reflects community and stakeholder attitudes.
The preferred master plan will inform the preparation of a Planning Proposal to Canterbury City Council for requested amendments to the Canterbury LEP, before future lodgement of a Development Application.
The Master Plan and planning proposal will have to be presented and considered by Canterbury City Council before any construction begins.
We estimate construction will not commence for three to five years.
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Step 1
Campsie RSL resolves to prepare a Master Plan and Planning Proposal
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Step 2
The multi-disciplinary team undertakes site investigations and confirm the sites suitability for mixed use development
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Step 3
The team explore design and built form options
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Step 4
Community consultation identifies The formulation of a preferred Master Plan that reflects community and stakeholder attitudes
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Step 5
The preferred Master Plan informs the preparation of a Planning Proposal
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Step 6
The Planning Proposal is lodged with Canterbury City Council requesting amendments to the zoning, floor space ratio and height controls that apply under the Canterbury LEP 2012
Working with us on our project is a multi-disciplinary team with expertise and experience in all aspects of project management, architecture, urban design, traffic and transportation management, civil engineering and communication.
This team share our vision to create a truly iconic venue for Campsie that is respectful to our history, mindful of our environment and sustainable for our future. The project team will ensure we are best placed to service our community and will together assist us to plan and design a venue that will reflect the needs of our entire community.
The key team members are:
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Development Management:
Philon is providing ongoing advice on the range of land uses that will be required to ensure the project is financially viable and caters to the club’s long term needs.
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Project Management:
Cerno Management is undertaking the day to day management of the development project, overseeing the project from Master Plan through to the Planning Proposal.
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Architecture:
Architects Contempo is undertaking the architectural modelling that tests the building forms that the Master Plan will give ride to at development.
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Urban Design:
GMU Urban Design & Architecture is responsible for formulating the Master Plan and the design controls.
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Planning:
Urbis is preparing the Planning Proposal that seeks Council approval for amending the Canterbury Local Environmental Plan 2012.
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Traffic and Transportation:
GTA Consultants is undertaking the traffic and transportation assessment for the project, ensuring better access to car parking and improved traffic flows around our site.