What is ‘Main Street Revitalisation’?
Main streets are the physical, economic, social and cultural hearts of their communities. They are important places for trade and commerce and play a crucial role in community connection and neighbourhood character. Main street revitalisation refers to the planned process of implementing initiatives and fostering main street environments that support thriving main street communities.
How is Council delivering main street revitalisation?
O’Connell Street, Melbourne Street, Hutt Street and Hindley Street have been identified as priority main streets, and the City of Adelaide has adopted a place-led, evidence-based approach to developing action plans that will deliver positive outcomes for the community.
A dedicated team was established in City of Adelaide with the aim to provide a strategic, cohesive and tailored approach to main street revitalisation.
The development of Main Street Master Plan drafts for each priority main street is part of this place-led approach. The Master Plans include projects delivering:
The Main Street Master Plan drafts reflect and respond to the individual character and circumstances of each of the priority main streets.
What is a ‘Place model’ approach to main street revitalisation?
A ‘Place model’ approach is about doing some things quickly to make a difference, experiencing, and evaluating what works, before investing in long-term change. It is based on listening to and asking questions of the people who live, work, and play in our places to discover their needs and aspirations and then implementing solutions
Work continues in each main street on short- and medium-term initiatives to add vibrancy to each street and trial and test new approaches that may be adopted in the longer term.
Where is Council on the main street revitalisation journey?
The place-led approach to main street revitalisation for all four priority main streets has been underway since February 2021. Since this time, City of Adelaide has embarked on a targeted engagement program through Lord Mayor’s Roundtable sessions and conversations with dedicated Place Coordinators on each priority main street. Concurrently, data gathering has included focus group sessions, City User Profile Survey targeted questions and Residents Survey targeted questions.
Over this period main street initiatives have been implemented to add vibrancy to each street and to trial and test new approaches that may be adopted in the longer term.
The Main Street Master Plan drafts were presented to Council in December 2021, with the draft long-term vision and objectives were approved for key stakeholder and community engagement.
Community engagement on the Main Street Revitalisation program for Melbourne Street, Hutt Street, Hindley Street and O’Connell Street occurred between 7 March and 4 April 2022.
The engagement was designed to seek feedback on the draft Vision and Objectives outlined in the Master Plan – Main Street Revitalisation report to Council on 14 December 2021.
A Main Street Revitalisation update was presented to The Committee on 17 May 2022, and further investigations and analysis to support the progress of the concept plans has been undertaken.
The report presented outlines the next steps for implementation of short-term initiatives, and a recommended approach for the spend of the State Government election commitment funding of $3 million for Hutt Street and $1 million for Melbourne Street, aligned with the vision for each street and the draft Concept Plans for Melbourne Street and Hindley Street.
Short term initiatives continue to be undertaken and further concept plans on Hutt Street, Melbourne Street, O’Connell Street and Hindley Street will be presented to Council in March 2023 to allow for consultation ahead of the 2023/24 Business Plan & Budget process.
Why is Council engaging with the community and businesses?
Successful main street revitalisation plans deliver initiatives that are tailored to place and the collective vision of main street stakeholders. Council values the knowledge of place along with the needs and aspirations of our community members and stakeholders. This engagement is an opportunity for Council to provide information on the status of the main street revitalisation program and seek feedback and information that will inform the way forward.
How will my feedback impact on improvements on our priority main streets?
Your feedback will be used to inform community priorities and identify new opportunities for each main street. When combined with existing research and data, feedback from this process will assist in guiding the implementation of the main street revitalisation action plans for each main street.
How do I provide my feedback?
Written Submissions
All written submissions must be addressed to:
Community Consultation
Main Street Revitalisation - O'Connell Street
GPO Box 2252, Adelaide SA 5001
What happens next?
We will acknowledge your feedback either by email or in writing.
The feedback we collect for each main street will be combined with existing research, data and feedback, and concepts and themes, to identify new opportunities and inform community priorities. This information will assist Council to implement the main street revitalisation program and deliver the vision in each priority main street over time.
The next Master Plan update to Council will be in March 2023 and will include designs and indicative costings. Main street revitalisation is an ongoing process and there will be future opportunities for community engagement as we progress the revitalisation program. Please stay informed by coming back to this page for updates.
