Penrith sets sights on the future with draft plan

Penrith City Council has endorsed a draft four-year delivery plan that outlines $640 million in capital works alongside its operating budget for the 2026-27 financial year.

The headline commitments include a new multi-deck car park in the CBD (see related story), $58 million toward stormwater renewal in the older suburbs of South Penrith and Kingswood, and the long-awaited rebuild of the Ripples leisure centre at St Marys.

Mayor Todd Carney said the plan reflected the city's twin pressures: population growth and an ageing built environment. "We are one of the fastest-growing local government areas in the country and parts of our infrastructure date to the 1970s. We can't only build new — we have to renew."

Public exhibition runs for 28 days, with a final plan to be adopted at the June meeting.