Next door to the new Sydney airport is a village residents fear will soon cease to exist
The new airport promises jobs and growth for western Sydney, but in the neighbouring semi-rural village of Luddenham, residents say it is pushing their community towards extinction.
Outside the Luddenham News and Post, next to the newspapers and the chicken feed, owner Yogeshkumar Methaniya – known as Yogi by locals – talks about his love for the small village in western Sydney where he works. “The community is really helpful, and you can rely on them all the time,” he said.
Behind him, it’s impossible to ignore the sleek new runway at the soon-to-be-completed Western Sydney International Airport**.** It’s a stark contrast to the semi-rural village that residents say is dying a slow death.
In the almost four years Yogi Methaniya has owned the Luddenham News and Post, he’s seen the village change significantly.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
Located one kilometre from the airport, also known as the Nancy-Bird Walton Airport, Luddenham Village is one of the oldest settlements in NSW. Its history dates back to the early 1800s. But in recent years the village, population 456, has struggled to stay alive.
Only 40 students attend Luddenham Public School, businesses have been forced to close, and long-term locals have decided to move away from the village, which is split between Penrith and Liverpool councils.
“All the small businesses are struggling. Rent [goes up] every year, electricity going up, our insurance, everything going up and eventually, if it doesn’t work well, in a year or two we will have to close the door. That’s the last choice,” Methaniya said.
For Methaniya and many Luddenham locals, the solution to save their village is simple: more housing. But with the state government yet to sign off on a strategy that residents say would allow for more residential development, Luddenham Village remains in limbo.
Luddenham Village will die without new housing, says Wayne Willmington, president of the Luddenham Progress Association.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
Luddenham Progress Association president Wayne Willmington has seen firsthand Luddenham’s decline over the past 10 years. When he talks about how Luddenham Village has changed, it’s with sadness.
