A new lawn, events for 1500: The $27m plan to reinvent a Sydney landmark

The desolate forecourt of the State Library of NSW will be expanded and reinvented with native plants and a central lawn for events, under a $27 million revamp approved by the City of Sydney.

The NSW government intends the 3000-square-metre space, wedged between the library steps and multiple lanes of traffic, to better connect the venue with The Domain and Royal Botanic Garden.

Arts Minister John Graham said the changes to the forecourt of the State Heritage-listed library’s Mitchell Wing would look forward “to the next 200 years for the library and library precinct”.

“The vision is to reset the civic space, to make entry from the Royal Botanic Garden, The Domain or Art Gallery of NSW easier and more welcoming,” Graham said.

Plans to transform the main entrance form part of the state government’s ambition to reimagine the Macquarie Street East Precinct into a vibrant arts and cultural destination over the next 20 years.

The plan to double the size of the existing forecourt requires works to reduce traffic lanes on Shakespeare Place, which leads to the Eastern Distributor, and to scrap the slip lanes to and from Macquarie Street. It also includes improvements to Sir John Young Crescent and Hospital Road.

The central lawn is designed for use as a plaza for library events and community activities for as many as 1500 people, with new seats, lighting and a potential kiosk.

The Shakespeare Memorial, a bronze life-sized figure of William Shakespeare between lanes in Shakespeare Place, will be relocated to the forecourt, in front of the library’s Shakespeare Room.

Plans submitted to the council’s local planning panel, which greenlit the project on Wednesday, proposed up to 52 events a year operating between 7am and 10pm, and six special events allowed to run to midnight.

Public submissions on the government’s proposal raised concerns about the project’s cost, noise disruption from construction and large events, and traffic detours.

One submission argued $27 million was “a steep price tag for a forecourt next to a major roadway”, when there was “already the sizeable Domain right next to the library to provide green space”.

Another submission, from a Macquarie Street unit owner, said a kiosk would create “visual pollution and therefore loss of property values”, while halving Shakespeare Place would “create traffic chaos and is … absurd”. She worried events on the lawn would cause “noise disturbance … visual intrusion and, unless council are also building bathrooms for 1500 people gathering, pungent smells”.

Planning documents said construction and event noise would not unreasonably affect nearby developments. The plans had “sufficiently demonstrated the future road design can accommodate the forecasted traffic load whilst having an acceptable impact on the wider road network”.

The documents said the proposal would upgrade public spaces, improve the library precinct, boost tree canopy cover, and provide opportunities for events.

State librarian Dr Caroline Butler-Bowdon said the new forecourt would “further elevate the library as both a cultural destination and a welcoming and magnificent setting for discovery”.

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