The corporation’s precinct essentially runs from the Harbour Bridge to the Anzac Bridge, taking in Walsh Bay, Barangaroo, Darling Harbour, Pyrmont and Blackwattle Bay. Partners include Crown and The Star, Lendlease and Mirvac, the Powerhouse, UTS and the ICC.
The New Sydney Waterfront Company, the first “business improvement district” established in Sydney, covers an area from Walsh Bay to Blackwattle Bay.
It operates on a voluntary basis, with nearly 50 partners, but the government could pass legislation to make it mandatory (as long as the majority of businesses in the area agree). The new Labor government is yet to commit, but Tyrrell will soon take Jobs and Tourism Minister John Graham on a tour.
Several large projects are set to transform the western harbour in coming years, such as Mirvac’s Harbourside project on the site of the now-demolished Harbourside shopping centre, the Blackwattle Bay redevelopment and the new Sydney Fish Market.
Tyrrell, who was appointed in June after holding a similar role in London’s West End, has ambitious goals to increase visitors and spending in the precinct.
He said Sydney’s western harbour struggled to attract international tourists, and referred to research that found only 25 per cent ventured west of the bridge.
“They’re very much going out to Bondi, to the Opera House … but 75 per cent aren’t turning to the west and spending time with us,” he told the Sydney summit. “[It’s] quite an alarming statistic.”
Loading
The NRMA – which runs the Manly Fast Ferry to Circular Quay – trialled an electric ferry between Barangaroo and Pyrmont from December 2021 to June last year. The two vehicles ran on 28.8kWh rechargeable batteries that charged to full in 2.5 hours, with seven hours of operation per charge.
However, patronage numbers did not justify the service. The NRMA said it was talking to the New Sydney Waterfront Company about how the ferries could become part of a permanent service.