It’s late summer, on a breathless morning with the temperature sitting somewhere in the mid 30 degrees. The type of morning in Western Sydney when you don’t so much breathe the humid, heavy air as ingest it. 
“Gonna be a warm one,”
says an older man, walking past in boardies with a towel over his shoulder.
Around us, a small and varied collection of people, of different ages and backgrounds, are busy either finding a spot on the sand or finding some respite in the cool, quiet water.
They might not know it or appreciate it, but they’re benefitting from an Australian first – the rehabilitation and conversion of a former quarry into a community asset, now in the first phase of its new life as a collection of lakes in the Penrith area.
Boral’s Head of Property, Kate Jackson, a Director on the Board of the Penrith Lakes Development Corporation (PLDC) – the entity that has overseen the rehabilitation of the site and handover to the State Government – said while not uncommon in the northern hemisphere, this type of remediation is a first in Australia and possibly the southern hemisphere.
“Penrith Lakes was once the largest sand and gravel quarry in the southern hemisphere responsible for producing 80 per cent of Sydney’s building supplies,” Kate said.
“And as an employee of the major shareholder, this exemplifies the 360-degree ‘end to end’ approach we take at Boral when it comes to the responsible management of our properties through the lifecycle of the asset.”
Since its opening in late December, through to the end of February, Penrith Beach as it is officially known, registered more than 150,000 visitors over the summer period. Opened by the NSW Government ahead of Christmas, the area provides a much closer option for Western Sydney residents, who would otherwise be looking to drive up to 60km to the coast to enjoy a day at the beach.
“What’s been really satisfying to see with this first phase is the realisation of the PLDC’s goal of delivering an asset that meets community needs of Western Sydney and beyond for years to come.”
Kate Jackson, Head of Property.
The Penrith Beach area is just one part of the master plan for the Western Sydney Lakes area, which covers 2,000 hectares of lakes and parkland and 330 hectares of land set aside for urban development.
Outside of the 330 hectares of urban development, the master plan outlines a 47-hectare business park, a 12.7-hectare Sydney Aerospace Park, a 29-hectare production studio precinct and 126 hectares set aside for a golf course and wetlands.
Penrith Beach sits in the Western Sydney Lakes Phase One area, known as Southbank, which is intended to be characterised - once fully realised - by its mixed-use potential comprising leisure, recreation, luxury retail and a waterfront dining precinct. With its proximity to the Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport at Badgerys Creek which is due to be completed in 2026, Penrith Lakes is ideally located to be a destination for local, national and international visitors and help drive future economic growth.
For Andrew Bondini, Boral’s Rehabilitation and Remediation Lead who has taken on the additional role as General Manager of the PLDC, the opening of Penrith Beach is really just the beginning.
“What has been achieved is world-class in quarrying rehabilitation and we now have a series of lakes that together form a ‘recreational lake system’, with a vision to build it further into a leisure lifestyle, business, and recreation destination. It’s an exciting first step.”
Western Sydney Lakes - the site of a rich history
For thousands of years, the Nepean River and surrounding waterways were an important place for the Darug people. It was later used as a European settlement, and in more modern times for agriculture and quarrying, as a venue for the Sydney 2000 Olympics, a community meeting space, and a sporting venue for rowing, kayaking and regattas.
The site adjoins the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area and runs parallel to the Nepean River, north of Penrith. It is around five times the size of Sydney’s Centennial Parklands and is as big as Sydney Harbour from the bridge to the heads.
From the late 1800s until 2015, when the quarry closed, what is now known as the Western Sydney Lakes Castlereagh site was a
quarry, operated by Boral, Holcim, and Hanson, that supported Sydney’s housing and infrastructure projects for generations.
In 1987, PLDC signed a deed of agreement with the NSW Government which, among other things, enabled quarry operations on site and the construction of flood mitigation weirs together with the quarry rehabilitation which is now largely completed, transforming the site into a major parkland and lake system with future urban areas.
“Importantly, the lakes and weirs also provide significant flood mitigation benefits for both local and downstream communities.
During times of flood, the weirs and lakes at Penrith Lakes absorb floodwaters from the adjacent Nepean River, thereby
helping to mitigate downstream flooding,” Kate said.“The rehabilitation of the quarry site has created a system of lakes both for water recreation activities and wildlife protection," Kate said.
What is the Penrith Lakes Development Corporation?
Established in 1981, Penrith Lakes Development Corporation (PLDC) was formed to consolidate operations and improve the rehabilitation outcomes for the hard rock and sand quarry.
PLDC is jointly owned by the shareholders:
40% Boral Resources (NSW) Pty Ltd (Boral)
40% Holcim (Australia) Pty Ltd (Holcim)
20% Hanson Australia Investments Pty Ltd (Hanson)