"Reshaping Whanganui" off to a flying start
Published on 11 November 2015
11 November 2015
Whanganui’s Town Centre Regeneration project has got off to a flying start with Urbanism+, one of Australasia’s top urban design teams, leading the way to develop ideas to reshape our town centre for the future.
Meetings with the arts, business and community sectors over the last three weeks have provided a clear sense of direction and purpose as well as ideas on how the wider Whanganui community sees the town developing.
Mayor Annette Main said the contribution from people from throughout the community had been invaluable in getting an options report under way.
“It has been great to see the commitment of time and energy from people who want our town centre to reflect our community and be a welcoming, dynamic and exciting place to be. Our town must work for us and this project shows what can be achieved when council works together with our colleagues and our community to understand our day to day and future challenges.
The input from the meetings provided themes for three days of “Inquiry by Design” workshops to bring these ideas to life around topics such as:
- Shared space for people, vehicles and businesses in parts of Victoria Avenue
- Promotion of town centre living
- Creation of memorable “signature” events to put the town “on the map” for visitors
- More events and activities in the evenings
- Attracting new major retailers currently not here in Whanganui
- Improved lighting of streets, buildings, civic spaces and monuments
- More riverfront development
- Demonstration projects to recycle and improve unoccupied buildings
Kobus Mentz, Director of Urbanism+, who has previously worked with the council on riverbank development, said that both the community and workshop team’s lively and passionate participation had fed great ideas and knowledge into the project.
These ideas to lift the vitality of the town centre complement the key catalyst projects such as the Sarjeant Gallery redevelopment project, creating a community hub and library in Victoria Avenue and the enlivening of riverfront spaces.
The Urbanism+ team ended the workshop sessions by reporting back on the key themes and is now turning the work so far into an options report. The options report will be available online and will also be presented at a public meeting to be held 5.30pm-7.00pm on Tuesday, December 8, in the Concert Chamber at the War Memorial Centre.
In the meantime, if you have ideas for improving our town centre they can be contributed online at www.wanganui.govt.nz/town-centre or via the Council's Facebook page.