What the council is working on
Recent deliveries, what's underway now, and what's planned next — drawn from the council's own plans, budgets and project pages. We report what the council has publicly said it's doing; every item links to its source.
The council's stated direction
Parkes Shire Council's direction is set out in its Community Strategic Plan ('Parkes 2035') and a Delivery Program with an annual Operational Plan and budget, shaped heavily by the shire's role as a national freight and logistics hub and by long-term water security.
The council manages local roads, water and sewer, waste, libraries, parks and planning across a large rural shire in the Central West. Parkes sits at the junction of Australia's east–west and north–south rail lines, and its Delivery Program is the elected council's statement of commitment for its term.
The Delivery Program funds the council's annual capital works program. Major externally-funded projects include the Parkes Water Security Program (part-funded by $11 million from the Australian Government and $26 million from the NSW Government) and a solar project to power water pumping stations (over $1.7 million in federal funding towards a $3.55 million scheme).
Underway now
Parkes Special Activation Precinct & National Logistics Hub
SAP declared 2020; hub expandingParkes was named the NSW Government's first Special Activation Precinct — a 4,800-hectare zone at the junction of the Inland Rail and the Trans-Australian Railway, anchoring the National Logistics Hub. The precinct offers streamlined planning and is projected to create thousands of jobs as freight, warehousing and industry establish there.
Source: Parkes Shire Council — Parkes Special Activation Precinct
Parkes Water Security Program
Expected completion late 2026A major upgrade of water infrastructure and additional supply assets to secure the shire's water. The program is part-funded by $11 million from the Australian Government and $26 million from the NSW Government, alongside council funds, and is described by the council as the most significant water project for Parkes this century.
Source: Parkes Shire Council — Parkes Water Security Program
Solar power for water pumping stations
Federal funding secured 2025–26The council secured more than $1.7 million from the Australian Government's Community Energy Upgrades Fund towards a $3.55 million project to install large-scale solar PV at two water pumping stations, which transfer raw water over 35 km for treatment and supply.
Source: Parkes Shire Council — Water Security and Management