Goondiwindi CBD masterplan project

No

No

The Masterplan for the Goondiwindi CBD is a plan for the future. It is a staged long term plan that will guide future works undertaken by Council, likely subject to external funding. We want our town to continue to be liveable and attractive, and to ensure the CBD continues to be regarded as a growing, successful and attractive place to live, work, visit and invest.

To access external funding Council must have a plan and costing for any proposed works.

Over recent years there has been an accumulation of requests to Council that require Council to consider future options. These include:

• Complaints to Council about accessibility issues including disability and prams
• Complaints to Council about the outdated nature of some elements of the main street, namely pavers and concrete planter boxers
• Safety concerns raised by an arborist relating to the aging nature of some of the palm trees
• The known maintenance and upgrades of town water infrastructure that will require parts of the existing main street to be disturbed/ replaced
• Requests from local community group Lanescape to introduce artwork that improves the Goondiwindi CBD area

During February and March 2023 Council, in conjunction with its consultant Complete Urban, undertook public consultation on the streetscaping concept design plans. This consultation included:

• Online Survey collected 307 detailed responses with each concept plan reviewed with at least 2/3 of respondents providing comments on concept plans.
• 3,877 postcards dropped to addresses across region to notify residents of the project and consultation opened.
• 75 postcard surveys filled out and returned to Council to inform results.
• Drop-in session held on 18 February, where 7 people provided detailed responses on concept plans and positive feedback on what they have seen so far.
• In early March, the Council organised two workshops at the Golden Age Centre to gather detailed feedback and promote prompted discussions with the community. The aim was to dispel any misconceptions and help guide the conversation. The first workshop, held on 1 March 2023, targeted community members and had 5 attendees. The second workshop, held on 2 March 2023, was intended for business owners and had 8 attendees.
• Local artist group, Lanescape also requested their own meeting with the Consultant and Council representatives to provide feedback on the concept designs. This meeting was scheduled as a workshop and held also on 2 March 2023 and had 6 attendees.

Over a 6 week period in (September/ October) 2020, the following was made available to the community:

• An online survey, promoted through various local Facebook groups
• Stalls in the main street to capture people’s opinions, including a paper based survey
• Goondiwindi Argus promotion of community consultation, including a front page story
• Survey shared with the local Goondiwindi Chamber of Commerce to share with their members
• Meetings with local community groups e.g. Family History Group and Lanescape, etc.
• Phone discussion with individual interested / concerned community members

No decisions have been made. However, a number of the larger palms have already perished and caused safety issues, the remaining are nearing the end of their lifespan.

What they will be replaced with, including the option to replace with similar palm trees, forms part of the consultation process.

No ratepayer funds have been committed to undertake future improvements or upgrades to the Goondiwindi CBD. A concept design is required to ascertain the cost and to source external funding for the potential project.

Residents can submit additional information, preferably in writing to streetscaping@grc.qld.gov.au.

Residents can raise concerns, and suggest improvements at any time. You can do this by contacting your local Councillor, or by contacting Council on mail@grc.qld.gov.au or phone 07 4671 7400.