Revitalising Wallsend's Town Centre

Placemaking aims to promote happiness, health and wellbeing for the whole community by recognising that people’s behaviour and wellbeing are shaped by their environment.

To create places that are special, unique and meet the community’s needs Placemaking empowers the community to be part of the design process. In addition to making places the community loves, the Placemaking journey builds strong community relationships that are just as important as the place itself.

In May 2015 Newcastle’s elected Council resolved to develop a Town Centre Master Plan for Wallsend. This became part of the Local Centres Public Domain Renewal Program, which commenced in 2016.

Community consultation was undertaken in November 2016 to inform the Wallsend PDP. The draft plan was exhibited to the public from 3 – 31 May 2017.

Issues were raised regarding proposed changes to Cowper Street and the location of the bus stop on Bunn Street. As a result, further traffic plans for Bunn Street and Cowper Street were exhibited from 12 March – 11 April 2018.

The Cowper Street and Bunn Street traffic plans were incorporated into the  Final Wallsend Public Domain Plan (pdf), which was adopted by the elected Council in May 2018.

The PDP provides a blue print for revitalising Wallsend town centre, the proposed improvements include:

• Renewing aging infrastructure, including roads, footpaths, lighting and drainage.
• Improving the look and feel through provision of new good quality infrastructure with integrated trees and landscaping.
• Making Cowper Street a 40km/hour High Pedestrian Activity Area between Bulkara Street and Newcastle Road.
• Upgrading Cowper Street, including the Kokera Street, Nelson Street and Newcastle Road intersections.
• Creating safe and direct connections by providing missing sections of shared path in line with the Newcastle Cycling Strategy and Action Plan 2012.
• Relocating the northbound bus stop on Bunn Street away from Merindah Childcare Centre to address problems with antisocial behaviour affecting children in the play area.
• Providing free WiFi on Nelson Street.

A flood mitigation project with measures to reduce the frequency and severity of flooding in Wallsend has been developed alongside the Wallsend Public Domain Plan. We have combined the public domain renewal project with the flood mitigation project, to form one long term vision.

The combined PDP and flood mitigation projects are staged for delivery over the coming years subject to funding approval. Overall project status is as follows:

• Stage 1: The relocation of the northbound transport stop on Bunn Street has been completed, including landscaping. A mural outside the Merindah Childcare Centre is to be completed later in 2020.
• Stage 2: Tyrrell St bridge replacement works commenced in September and were completed in March 2020.
• Stage 3: Detailed design for the installation of traffic lights of the intersection of Cowper and Kokera Streets is underway. This is in coordination with the design for Ironbark Creek Stage 7 Works and provision of new culvert under Cowper Street bridge. Works are proposed to commence, subject to funding approval, in the 2020/2021 financial year.
• Stage 4: Detailed design of Boscawen St and Nelson St bridges will commence in the 2020/21 financial year. These works will be undertaken in coordination with investigation of channel widening and naturalisation through the Wallsend CBD.
• Stage 5: Detailed design for the installation of traffic lights at the Nelson Street and Cowper Street intersection and the proposed roundabout at the intersection of Cowper St and Newcastle Road will be undertaken early in the 2020/21 financial year. Construction will commence later that year or early 2021/22 financial year, subject to funding approval. The stage has received blackspot funding from TfNSW.
• Future stages: Community input will be sought on the order of priority for future stages.

We are coming back to the community to share information on the approved PDP and to engage further on values, safety, design themes and order of priority for future staging of revitalisation works. We will be designing public spaces through a community lead Placemaking approach and will be asking for the community’s thoughts on public spaces throughout Wallsend town centre.