Beresfield Local Centre
We improved safety, drainage and the look and feel of the area to make Beresfield's local centre a more inviting place to visit and shop.
Beresfield Local Centre was one of the first centres to be renewed in 2018/19 as part of our local centres program. Our upgrade delivered major improvements to the drainage, stormwater system, roads, pathways and lighting in the local centre, while keeping the area's character.
A community celebration was held to mark the completion of the upgrade on 20 September 2019.
In developing the project we worked with local businesses and residents to develop a public domain plan for the infrastructure works for the centre, as well as placemaking consultation with the community to come up with ideas for the area on the corner of Beresford and Lawson Avenues.
Features
- A 40km/h zone and associated traffic calming devices to reduce speed and increase safety.
- Road and pedestrian lighting upgrade, including lighting to the railway station.
- Drainage renewal and rain garden which will improve the quality of water run-off that enters Hexham Wetlands.
- New street trees.
- New street furniture including seats, bike racks and bins.
- New kerb, gutter and footpath.
- Renewed road pavement.
- Retention of on street parking.
- Free WiFi.
- A new community space on the corner of Beresford and Lawson Avenues including a new mural, shade shelter, seating and landscaping.
Placemaking Activities
As part of the renewal a new public space for the community was created on the corner of Beresford and Lawson Avenues. This prominent space has the potential to be a focal point for the community.
In 2019 we held workshops with local schools to develop creative themes for the space. This was followed up with a community place-warming session on-site to gather ideas from the community. We also teamed up with the University of Newcastle to develop creative ideas for the space using this information provided by the community. This collaborative approach builds on research undertaken by the University on the "urban heat island effect" - the way that the space warms up and absorbs and reflects heat on hot summer days.
The community had the opportunity to view and vote on three concept ideas for landscaping and art, from 25 November to 9 December 2019. The community preferences were for Concept Proposal 1 (Corner garden with Green and Golden Bell frog mural) and Concept Proposal 2 (Underwater with Blue Billed Duck mural). The final design combines these design options and includes both a shelter and tree canopy.
Project collaboration and funding
This project has been assisted by the NSW Government and supported by Local Government NSW. City of Newcastle received Grant funding from Increasing Resilience to Climate Change (Round Two) from the Minister for Energy and the Environment for design and construction of this project. This will fund post construction measurements of urban heat through smart city technology in collaboration with University of Newcastle.
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Learn more about this collaboration and our findings:
Smart Trees: Resilience Strategies to Combat Urban Heat Island Effect, Newcastle NSW
