Macarthur Business Park across the river wins conditional council support

The paddocks across the Nepean River from Menangle Park have taken a step towards being rezoned for employment. Wollondilly Shire Council announced on 4 August 2026 that it has given conditional support to Walker Corporation’s planning proposal for the Macarthur Business Park on Moreton Park Road at Douglas Park and Menangle — described by the proponent as a 400-hectare, $1.9 billion business and innovation park.

What the source says

The proposal would rezone rural land to an Enterprise zone, with an Environmental Conservation zone over the sensitive parts, allowing business industry, commercial offices, large format retail and other commercial uses.

Three job figures are on the record. Council’s announcement says the proponent believes the project could provide up to 20,000 more local jobs. The lodged draft planning proposal states over 14,000. Walker’s original July 2024 announcement said 10,000-plus. Council also notes that together with Mirvac’s separate Southern Gateway Business Park on the same road, and the Wilton Industrial proposal, plans for more than 20,000 local jobs are progressing in the area.

Council’s support is conditional. It wants infrastructure delivered before the precinct, including a new full interchange with the Hume Motorway and an east–west link road from the Hume through to Appin Road, plus conservation of environmentally sensitive land and protection of a significant portion of koala habitat. Council also increased the conservation land by about 40 per cent and asked for a transport assessment covering Douglas Park Gorge.

One condition names our road. Mayor Matt Gould’s quoted condition is that “the full motorway interchange with on and off ramps as well as a link road to Menangle Road is in place from day one”. That is a second link road, distinct from the Hume-to-Appin one in the list of benefits above, and it is the part of this proposal closest to Menangle Park. Mayor Matt Gould is quoted saying potential jobs “do not outweigh” getting the infrastructure, environmental protections and land-use controls right. Council says preliminary consultation, which ran from 19 September to 17 October 2025, raised concerns about insufficient infrastructure, environmental impacts and effects on surrounding villages, alongside general support for the jobs.

Where else this shows up

Endeavour Energy’s network planning takes the precinct into account. Its Distribution Annual Planning Report 2025 lists a future “Moreton Park Road ZS” zone substation to supply the planned Menangle development area and the business parks south of Menangle, with an estimated constraint date of November 2031. Endeavour puts it in the five-to-ten-year future needs list, not committed works, and notes the timing for early-stage developments is uncertain.

What it means for a household here

This is a large jobs proposal just over the river. If it proceeds, work could end up minutes away by car rather than up the M5 or the M31.

The traffic side cuts both ways. A new full Hume interchange and a Hume-to-Appin link road would change regional driving patterns for anyone leaving via Menangle Road or the motorway. That matters here because Spring Farm Parkway Stage 1, the estate’s motorway access, has city-facing ramps only — it is not a full interchange, and southbound motorway trips need another one. Nothing is changing on the ground yet, and no construction timeline has been published. See Getting around for how the roads work today, and What it costs for how the wider jobs pipeline sits alongside prices here.

Wollondilly takes comment on the proposal at council@wollondilly.nsw.gov.au, and its Your Say page for the rezoning has a notification sign-up, which is how a household here would hear about the next exhibition rather than reading about it afterwards.

What to watch

Council says it will submit the draft planning proposal to the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure asking for a Gateway determination, which would set out further work required and include another round of community consultation. Rezoning is only the first stage; development applications would follow. The Gateway determination is the next public document to look for, and Your Say Wollondilly is where the next consultation round would be advertised.