Showcasing sustainable technologies at Willowdale Community Place

Willowdale is a 350 hectare community located in the East Leppington growth precinct of NSW that will eventually be home to 3,000 families.

The Willowdale Community Place will be an active and vibrant community meeting place that will connect residents through a program of activities developed in collaboration with the local community.

The Community Place will be a fully functioning sustainable house that will be available for use by community members, including the general public, by mid-2016. The house will showcase sustainability technologies and demonstrate attainable measures that residents can undertake in the design, build and ongoing operation of their homes. It is designed as an energy efficient home (certified to 8 Star NatHERS) and aspires for net zero emissions through a range of features including the use of solar power (photovoltaic panels on roof), efficient LED lighting, installation of timber framed windows with glazing and insulation to all ceilings, external and internal walls.

The house has also been designed to be accessible by all members of the community and received a silver performance rating from Livable Housing Australia (LHA). It also offers a large community garden available to all members of the general public.

To ensure the Willowdale Community Place addresses the needs of the community, Stockland conducted an initial survey with residents and local community organisations to identify what events and activities the local residents would like to see in the Community Place. The most popular activities identified include yoga, pilates, meditation, cooking and nutrition classes, do it yourself workshops, gardening classes and playgroups.

We recently ran a workshop with industry groups, not for profit organisations and local councils (Camden and Campbelltown) to raise awareness of the Community Place and demonstrate opportunities for involvement and partnerships.

The Community Place concept was initially developed for one of Stockland’s communities in Victoria, Selandra Rise.  The Selandra Rise Community Place has proven very successful in providing residents with sustainability information, access to health and wellbeing activities and promoting opportunities for residents to meet and connect with their neighbours. Both Selandra Rise and Willowdale Community Places are great examples of collaboration between Stockland, local councils, suppliers and our builder partners to deliver value to our communities.