Callan Park master plan hopes to turn former psychiatric hospital site into ‘iconic’ urban parkland

Artist’s impression of the upgraded buildings at Callan Park. The 2035 master plan recommends more open space, upgrading of ovals and conservation of a number of Victorian-era therapy gardens. Photograph: NSW government

A new master plan for Callan Park, the site of a former psychiatric hospital in Sydney’s inner west, proposes restoring the heritage buildings for health and cultural uses and possibly for a film facility while rejuvenating its extensive parklands to create another Centennial Park-style green space for the city.

But it has left unanswered questions over how the project would be paid for, raising questions about whether the vision can be achieved by 2035, especially as many of the heritage buildings that were once part of the hospital require extensive renovation.