Tomah Transformation Strategic Business Case

The Challenge

Mount Tomah Garden is a significant asset for New South Wales and Botanic Gardens of Sydney (BGS) as the principal living repository for conserving cool climate and alpine plant species. The remoteness of Mount Tomah Garden is a key factor in its attractiveness, but it also results in high operating costs and low visitation rate.

While proposed urban growth in North-West Sydney will act as a natural catchment for increased visitations as the population increases to 2.2 million over the next 20 years a significant new eco-tourism experiences and upgraded asset facilities will be required to realise new visitors from this catchment.

The Action

An ‘Arc of Opportunity’ has been identified at Mount Tomah which encompasses a series of individual elements across the Mount Tomah Garden that together will transform the way it operates. Polis was engaged to develop the Strategic Business Case (SBC) for this transformative project.

The SBC set out the case for change for the site, including the set of assets and functions that would come together as part of the project. Options looking at staging and delivery of a mix of the following was looked at as part of the SBC.

As part of the delivery of the SBC, Polis was also responsible for developing the cost benefit analysis where it identified a series of innovative benefits to capture the full transformative nature of the project.

The Results

Polis successfully delivered a fit-for-purpose Strategic Business Case that reimagines what Mount Tomah can be for BGS, providing a pathway to sustainable revenue streams for the site. The SBC is currently pending final endorsements. The proposed Tomah Transformation has the potential to combine revenue sustainability for BGS while it meets state conservation goals.