Julie Matheson
Former Subiaco Councillor | Certified Financial Planner | Western Australia Party Convenor
CBD & Town Centre Planning
This conference was held in Sydney, June 2013. Some of the key themes I took away were as follow:
- Language like retrofit was used to fix up planning mistakes such as Docklands, ref. S Buckeridge, Hayball
- If silos exist between different departments, there’s problem, ref H Elkai, Deakin University, Geelong
- Don’t ignore the wisdom of the crowd, ref, Ibid
- Be careful of the weighting between rational evidence and local knowledge and intelligence. One without the other is problematic, ref Ibid
- Use a steering committee to manage data and information collection from the community, ref. Ibid
- Ideal infill economy is one new resident to one new worker, ref. A McDougall, SGS Economics & Planning
- Plans for large buildings does not equal more jobs (Penrith example), ref. Prof. P Phipps, University of Sydney
- Having no height restrictions brings more development interest, ref. D Lynch, Townsville Council
- “Flippers” and speculators can sterilise a place when inappropriate zoning is in place (Penrith example), ref. Prof. P Phipps, University of Sydney.
- Developers are NOT good at mixed use developments. Residents complain of noise and loss of amenity and office workers claim that washing on balconies spoil their views, Ref. Ibid
- The legal experts were unconvinced on amalgamations, ref. P Ibbotson, Maddocks
- Successful planning should include “shovel-ready” projects to win the hearts and minds of residents, ratepayers, community and State Govt (Tallangatta example), ref. D Landy, ClarkeHopkinsClarke
- If funding is a problem for civic assets, make them mixed used to attract grants, ref. Ibid
- Make play spaces not play grounds – to keep up with community fickleness, Ref. P DeAraugo, Bendigo Council
- Removing a building with history can have a profound effect on the community and their connection a place – they may never visit that area again, ref. Hill Street Precinct, Sydney
- Tell people what they can do in a Town Planning Scheme, not what they can’t, Ref. Ref. P DeAraugo, Bendigo Council
- To reboot a village using council assets, use office income to fund social services, ref. Degenhart & Shedd
- Do not replicate or imitate shopping centres in a village (Townsville experience), ref. Ibid
- Council should avoid doing staged developments with developers. Cherry picking will be done, leaving council with the expensive stuff to complete, ref. P Ibbotson, Maddocks
20. New shopping mall killed off town centre (DeeWhy experience), ref. D Chung, Warringah Council
- Roundabouts are friendly for cars but not pedestrians, ref. D Johnson, Ryde Council
22. Have an adaptive use for heritage buildings, and make the most of universities in the locality, ref. J Wing, NSW Dept of planning and infrastructure
23. Use website to brand and promote new projects to get the best teams interested/bidding from far and wide, ref. K Westlake, Parramatta Council
24. Involve children from local schools to launch a project. They are the future users of it, ref. M Fooks, Frankston Council
- It is the role of the council to work directly with traders and tenants to get the right mix of business, ref. C Isles, Place Design Group
26. The capital base of an infill site increases by 120% over 5 years. Banks require 100% of construction costs to be covered by presales. Bank will lend up to 60% of LVR, ref. P Archer, Cedar Woods Properties
- Focus on specialised developers to get the right use. Build enduring character that will be future heritage, ref. P Annand, Urban Design
28. Find the businesses you want and entice them in, ref. B Nowland, Savills
29. Solastalgia – the demolition of memories though the loss of buildings or environmental change, ref. J Donovan, Inclusive Design
30. Buskers and musicians don’t like traffic noise, ref. Ibid
For more information see: http://commstrat.com.au/cbd
