Belmore Park, the green space sitting between Eddy Avenue and Hay Street directly opposite Central Station, has had its concept design for renewal endorsed, with construction expected to begin in 2028 after extensive community consultation shaped the final plan.
The park, often described as the front door to Central given its position as a major arrival point for the city, will gain better lighting, larger lawn areas, more seating, new garden beds and simplified pathways. A new paved space with amphitheatre seating is planned to support music and dance performances, markets and community events.
For Haymarket and Redfern locals who pass through or linger in the park daily, the upgrade addresses concerns that have built over years about how the space functions, particularly after dark.
A park layered with history and meaning
Belmore Park sits on Gadigal Country and carries significance well beyond its function as green space near a train station. It holds deep, enduring connection for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, having long served as a site of cultural practice and activism.
Its proximity to Central Station gives it particular importance for members of the Stolen Generations, many of whom passed through or were separated from family near this exact location.
The park also hosts regular political demonstrations and cultural gatherings, including Lunar New Year celebrations that draw large crowds from across the city and beyond. That dual identity, as both a functional green space and a site of historical weight, shaped much of the consultation process behind the renewal.
Inside the approved concept design
Community feedback gathered through the consultation period directly informed the concept design. Residents flagged safety, sightlines and entrance points as priorities, alongside interest in reinterpreting the park’s historic bandstand and using lighting more creatively throughout the space.
The design responds to that input directly. Paths will be simplified with new surfaces, and improved lighting is intended to help people feel safer using the park at night. Designers are looking at transforming the historic bandstand site into a play space that honors the heritage structure’s memory through active play.
Access on the western side of the park is also being investigated, with additional paths and seating under consideration to improve how people move through and use that section of the space.
Part of a bigger plan for Haymarket
The Belmore Park renewal sits within a broader Haymarket and Chinatown revitalisation strategy and an accompanying public domain plan, both developed after more than 1,150 people contributed to a community vision process for the area. Improving Belmore Park was identified as a clear priority within that wider strategy.
Through consultation, residents also raised the desire for better paths and cycleways, more seating, and spaces for recreation, changes intended to make better use of one of the larger green spaces in central Sydney and encourage people to spend more time there rather than simply passing through.
What happens next
The concept design was endorsed following a public consultation period that ran from 9 March to 6 April 2026, with the proposal formally approved at a council meeting on 18 May 2026. The design will now be refined ahead of construction, which is expected to begin in 2028.
Further information on the project and the full concept design documents are available here.
Published 18-June-2026
