Kellyville, New South Wales

Kellyville Sydney, New South Wales
Medium-density residential housing adjacent to Kellyville Shopping Plaza
Population:	18,922
Postcode:	2155
Area:	27 km² (10.4 sq mi)
Location:	36 km (22 mi) north-west of Sydney CBD
LGA:	The Hills Shire
State District:	Castle Hill, Hawkesbury
Federal Division:	Mitchell
Suburbs around Kellyville: Kellyville Ridge Rouse Hill Beaumont Hills Annangrove Glenhaven Stanhope Gardens Kellyville Castle Hill Glenwood Bella Vista Baulkham Hills

Kellyville is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kellyville is located 36 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of The Hills Shire, part of the Hills District region.

History

Kellyville is named after Hugh Kelly, who owned the Kellyville Estate. Kelly owned a hotel on the corner of Wrights and Windsor Roads called the

Bus outside Kellyville Post Office on corner of Acres & Windsor Roads Kellyville 1930s

'Bird-In-Hand'. Originally, the area had been known as 'There and Nowhere' followed by 'Irish Town' for the clan of Kellys that lived in the area. After Kelly's death in 1884, John Fitzgerald Burns, James Green and George Withers purchased portions of several early land grants, which were subdivided into farmlets as part of the 'Kellyville Estate', thereby giving the suburb its name. The first subdivisions of 100-acre (0.40 km²) lots were made in 1884.

Parts of Kellyville became separate suburbs. Beaumont Hills, north of Samantha Riley Drive, was renamed in 2002. Kellyville Ridge, west of Old Windsor Road, is a separate suburb in the City of Blacktown.

Kellyville Public School is a historic building which was established in 1849. For most of the 20th century, Kellyville was semi-rural. From the 1960s to the 1980s about 900 homes were developed in an area around Acres Road, known locally as 'The Village'. More recently, major developments such as Kellyville Plaza have encouraged residential growth. Due to the suburb's location, Kellyville is a major growth area in The Hills.

Commercial areas

Kellyville Plaza features a Coles supermarket and 22 specialty shops including a National Pharmacies. The plaza and Woolworths supermarket next door both opened in 2003. Other shopping needs are met by the various shops located on a light commercial strip in an area known as 'The Village' on Windsor Road, Kellyville. Kellyville Pets, on Windsor Road, is a large and diverse pet store.

Residential areas

Kellyville possesses a unique combination of being semi-rural, older suburban and modern. Through its combination of housing, the area is able to offer a variety of lifestyles, spanning from medium-density townhouse developments along Kellyville Shopping Plaza to opulent residences sited adjacent to natural creeks and bushlands. As a result of the suburb's strategic location, Kellyville offers a relaxed and quiet lifestyle being surrounded by rural areas and suburban Castle Hill, Baulkham Hills and Glenhaven.

Housing Estates:

• Duncraig Estate (Cattai Creek Drive, north-east Kellyville) - Known for being a popular choice among home buyers due to both leafiness and diverse choice of house types, ranging from modest modern housing to large affluent properties. Residential land sizes range between 450 m² and 2000 m²
• Highlands Estate (Wellgate Avenue, far-northern Kellyville area) - Renowned for being an upmarket neighbourhood surrounded by natural bushland and creek. Residential land sizes range between 800 m² and 900 m²
• Elizabeth Macarthur Estate (Macquarie Avenue, far-western Kellyville area). Residential land sizes range between 450 m² and 600 m². Noted for its easy access to Rouse Hill Town Centre, Stanhope Gardens and North-west T-way.
• Old Homeworld Display Village - Known as being originally the first 'New Homeworld', an estate of various display houses for aspiring brand new home buyers
• New Homeworld Display Village (Homeworld IV - River Oak Circuit, western Kellyville area). Billed as the largest display village in the world with 120 homes, it is a neighbourhood of display homes which are designed to encourage purchase of home construction. After being used as a display village, the houses are sold for normal residential occupancy. Residential land sizes range between 450 m² and 550 m²

Education

Primary & Secondary Schools:

• Kellyville Public School - Public Primary School
• Sherwood Ridge Public School - Public Primary School
• St Angela's Primary School - Catholic Primary School
• Our Lady of the Rosary Primary School - Catholic Primary School
• Kellyville High School - Public High School
• William Clarke College - Private School for students from Kindergarten to Year 12
• Beaumont Hills Primary School - Public Primary School

Pre-schools:

• Kellyville Pre-school Kindergarten Inc (President Road)
• The Cubbyhouse @ Kellyville, Early Childhood Learning Centre (Wrights Road)
• Treasure Island Early Learning Centre (Acres Road)
• Scribbles Kindy Preschool and Long Day Care Centre (Hezlett Road)
• ABC Developmental Learning Centre - Kellyville (Craigmore Drive)
• ABC Developmental Learning Centre - Kellyville (Redden Drive)
• ABC Developmental Learning Centre - Kellyville (Arnold Avenue)
• ABC Developmental Learning Centre - Kellyville (Ironbark Ridge Road)
• CFK Childcare Centre - Kellyville (Carmelo Court)
• CFK Childcare Centre - Kellyville (Barry Road)
• Fraser Avenue Child Care Centre (Fraser Avenue)
• The Island : Before and After School Care- Kellyville (Redden Drive)

Special Needs Schools:

• Tallowood School - School for disabled students from ages 4 to 18

Transport

Road

Windsor Road is a significant road linking Parramatta, in the City of Parramatta, with Windsor, in the City of Hawkesbury. Recent infrastructure development in the Hills District has increased the accessibility of Kellyville. Windsor Road, formerly one-lane each way, was upgraded to a two-lane road in 2006 and has significantly improved traffic flow in the area. Green Road was completed as a two-lane road in 2006 and links Kellyville with the nearby Victoria Avenue, Castle Hill trading zone 2 km down the road, home to three Homemaker centres, car dealers, light industrial areas and many other retail outlets. The old Glenhaven Bridge is a wooden, shared one-lane bridge and was replaced with the new Glenhaven Bridge, which is a proper concrete bridge suitable for heavy vehicles. Built in 2007, the bridge runs over Cattai Creek and allows for normal traffic flows between Kellyville and Glenhaven.

Kellyville now has the advantage of faster travel to Sydney CBD fuelled by the new Lane Cove Tunnel and the M2 Hills Motorway. In good conditions, travel takes approximately 35 minutes.

Bus and rail

Transport to Parramatta by bus in the far-western side of Kellyville has been also been improved through the development of the bus-only North-West T-Way, which runs parallel with Old Windsor Road.

Hillsbus provide services to Rouse Hill (T64, T65, T66, 601, 610, 607X, 617X), Parramatta (T64, T65, T66, 601), Castle Hill (610, 612, 615) and Baulkham Hills (601, 610, 612, 615) and Sydney CBD (607X, 610, 612, 615, 617X), whilst Busways provide services to Blacktown (T71, T75), Castle Hill (T71) and Rouse Hill (T71, T75).

The North West Rail Link is a proposed railway line which will connect the Hills District with the rest of the Sydney rail network. Additional buses are planned to service the area.

Sport and recreation

The Bernie Mullane Sporting Complex is a major recreational facility which was officially opened in March 2003 with a total project cost of more than $13 million. As part of the project, an indoor facility for a gym and other indoor sports, tennis courts, soccer fields and cricket grounds were constructed. The complex provides for a wide range of indoor and outdoor health, recreational and sporting programs and services.

Other recreational venues include:

• Caddies Creek Reserve - Radisson Place
• Commercial Road Netball Reserve - Wellgate Avenue
• Kellyville Park - Memorial Avenue
• Macquarie Avenue Reserve - Macquarie Avenue
• The Hills Centenary Park - Cnr Commercial & Withers

Recreational facilities in close proximity include Castle Hill Country Club and Fred Caterson Reserve in Castle Hill. Fred Caterson Reserve is set within a 60 hectare bushland setting directly less than 1 km south-east of Kellyville, and offers a range of outdoor options including bushwalking tracks, BMX track, cycleways, remote control car track and many other sporting fields.

Hospitals

There are no hospital facilities available in the immediate Kellyville postcode. Norwest Private Hospital, and a Rehabilitation Hospital on Windsor Road, Baulkham Hills (near the corner of Merindah Road), includes emergency for private patients and has a very large Maternity Ward. The current hospital site will be redeveloped into a rehabilitation centre when the hospital's owners, Healthscope, move the operations to the Norwest Business Park, which is expected to be completed in 2009.

Population

The population of Kellyville in 2001 was 13,668 people. By 2006 the population was 18,922 showing a population growth of 38% in the area during that time. The predominant age group in Kellyville is 0 – 9 years. Households in Kellyville are primarily couples with children and are likely to be repaying over $2000.00 per month on mortgage repayments. In 2001, 82% of the homes in Kellyville were owner-occupied compared with 85% in 2006. Approximately 30% of households in Kellyville have a total annual income of over $130,000, followed by 21% of households with a total annual income of $88,000-$130,000. Approximately 60% of all household occupants are purchasers (mortgage holders), followed by 24% of households who own outright. Capital gains in median house prices from 2007 to 2008 have had change of 8.5%.

Notable residents

Some of Kellyville's notable residents include -

• Greg Page - founding member of "The Wiggles"

Issues

Environmental impact

Kellyville, as with other newer suburbs in both the south-west and north-west districts of Sydney, has been victimised in the media as being synonymous with being developed as a suburb of larger homes. These homes, known as McMansions, are criticised for being indifferent, low-cost in design, and mediocre in terms of build quality. Aggravating the problem is the fact that most are built at a higher house-to-land ratio, resulting in closer construction between neighbouring boundaries, smaller backyards and smaller setbacks. Less land and much larger floorplans (in which double of what a typical house would cover), environmental impact is a concern. Less trees are planted to offer natural shade from extreme summer heat and more energy is needed to run air-conditioners and heaters.

More of a concern is that development occurs on greenfield. Most greenfield sites in Kellyville were significant contributors to Sydney's primary produce and because the land is replaced with urban development, farmland will have to be transferred further away from urban centres, thereby increasing food prices. Urban sprawl will have environmental consequences as formerly undeveloped land is replaced with concrete and bricks. This means that average temperatures in the region would increase as heat in summer is absorbed during daytime and released at night.

Planning

Planners and politicians have been criticised for releasing land for development before any infrastructure reforms had been undertaken. Planning deficiencies has led to an exorbitant lack of reliable public transport. The North West Metro (originally called the North West Rail Link) was originally announced in 1998 as a heavy rail line for completion in 2010. However, in 2006, the schedule was revised for completion in 2017. As a result of lack of decent transport and political progress, it is common for Kellyville residents to own at least two motor vehicles.

Also, the project’s announcement meant the junking of the previously proposed Metropolitan Railway Expansion Program (MREP) that would have linked the north-west and south-west districts of Sydney, which have long been delegated for absorbing future population growth, with a direct rail line to the commercial and employment corridor encompassing Macquarie Park, Chatswood, St Leonards, North Sydney, Sydney CBD and Sydney Airport. The now defunct Sydney CBD Rail Link, which would have provided for a second crossing of Sydney Harbour and up to four new CityRail stations within the city, would also have brought faster, more reliable services to every reach of the existing network by easing capacity on the severely congested City Circle, in particular Town Hall and Wynyard stations.

Public transport deficiency

The deficiency of public transport in the area is often criticised. Due to low density planning the bus service within many of the suburbs is slow and infrequent. The long-promised North West Metro rail link to the Castle Hill and Kellyville areas has been repeatedly delayed and its future is now in doubt. As a result, commuters to the city are forced either to drive through expensive and congested tollways or take buses which are almost always overcrowded. The lack of public transport accessibility of the whole district has slowed down population and property value growth potential.

Land release

Over the next two decades, Kellyville will be further developed on remaining greenfield sites. These sites include northern Kellyville and the Balmoral Road Release Area (casually known as the 'Hole in the Doughnut', due to being remained undeveloped while surrounding areas have experienced urban development activities). There are 3500 lots in northern Kellyville and 6000 lots in the Balmoral Road Release Area.

External links

• Kellyville, New South Wales is at coordinates 33°42′38″S 150°57′04″E
• History of Kellyville.