December 7 2021: Not-for-profit based Hills Community Aid (HCA) is looking to expand further into Sydney’s northwest, with the possibility of locating within a new residential garden village envisaged for the former Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children site at North Rocks.

Plans for a new residential village by EG (a specialist investor with extensive experience in the sensitive delivery of residential urban renewal projects – including the award-winning Flour Mill project in Summer Hill), include a 2,000sqm multi-purpose community space in addition to a library centred around a new village square. A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the charitable group HCA and EG to pursue a permanent space for a range of sustainable social, financial and educational programs.

HCA executive officer and program director Mici Beer said if the project is given the green-light, a new centre could open in addition to their two existing ones at Baulkham Hills. The space provided would allow families to come together and meet others through their popular leisure learning classes such as yoga, tai-chi and dressmaking.

“It is a very exciting opportunity for the Hills Community Aid to be able to branch out into both the North Rocks and Parramatta Local Government area and we are delighted that EG came to us with this opportunity,” Ms Beer said.

“We have all learned how important social contact is after the last couple of lockdowns and particularly the need for face-to-face engagement. Our programs provide everyone with a chance to meet other locals – neighbours who live up the street or around the corner – and from those networks form friendships.”

Michael Easson, Chairman of EG, said their vision for the New North Rocks Village Residential Precinct is to be an extension of the local community and not just to provide buildings.

The company is working in collaboration with the HCA on how best to use the proposed community facilities in accordance with the needs of all parties, including Parramatta City Council.

“We would like EG to be known as a company who thinks hard about how we can make the community better, rather than bulldozing existing structures and constructing something that doesn’t fit in,” Dr Easson said.

“We believe in building good into everything we do and we are delighted by the opportunity to work closely with Hills Community Aid. They are a dynamic group and as patrons of the community they will activate the space and utilise them making a positive difference in people’s lives,” he said.

HCA was established 52 years ago initially to welcome those moving to the Hills region. Over the decades it has evolved to offer a pivotal range of programs including job skills, homelessness prevention, domestic violence support, leisure learning and community transport.

While the not-for-profit group’s branding has ‘Hills’ in their name, their services – which includes No Interest Loan Scheme (NILS) and the Energy Accounts Payment Assistance (EAPA) – are accessed by people living in the Parramatta and Blacktown areas.

Chair of the Board for the HCA, Maria Kovacic said their focus has been on broadening their delivery and making sure they reach people who can benefit from their programs and assistance.

“There is need in the Hills and while there is a lot of affluence, often the need is hidden because of the stigma, so we are very careful in how we deliver that and in a respectful way and giving people privacy in relation to that,” Ms Kovacic said.

“That is where we are very connected to what EG does because our programs are about strengthening and connecting communities and their purpose is about having a lasting impact, so they really fit in well together.

“We have some wonderful education, social and financial programs and while we offer crisis support, it is also about educating and strengthening the community which also reduces disadvantage.”

The additional location would allow services to be accessed by residents living in nearby Carlingford, Oatlands, Telopea, Burnside and West Pennant Hills.

David Workman, Head of Urban and Community Planning at EG said ‘the potential multipurpose space for HCA would be located within a planned ‘community hub’, comprising an oval, village square, multi-purpose community hub and neighbourhood library (located along North Rocks Road, opposite the shopping centre). It has the potential to become a genuine civic space, available for all North Rocks residents to enjoy.’

HCA’s presence would’ represent an extremely valuable addition to the community hub and could include a multi-purpose space for a range of HCA activities, meeting rooms, an office, kitchen and storage areas’, he said.

“Being a resident of the Hills for many years, it has been great to gain a better understanding about HCA and their needs going forward and how they might be accommodated in the future renewal of the RIDBC site at North Rocks,”
A planning proposal for the North Rocks Village Residential Precinct was submitted to Parramatta City Council in May and is expected to undergo public exhibition in 2022.

The master planned community includes apartments, townhouses plus studio terraces and also detached houses. It also includes a significant seniors housing component and aged care. Approximately 30 percent of the site will be made available as parkland including a 1.8ha oval precinct.

The Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children – now known as NextSense – who have been based at North Rocks for a number of decades are relocating to modern purpose built premises at Macquarie Park.