Masterplan Context
The
Kerang CBD Masterplan responds to the Gannawarra Vision as expressed in
Gannawarra 2025. It embraces the region’s brand and its values. It is designed
to achieve the outcomes targeted.
The
Masterplan is based on a process of investigation that recognises the past,
embraces the challenges that have been identified for the region, the priority
areas that were identified for consideration and looks towards securing a
viable and reliable future for the town.
The
Masterplan recognises that the Shire has limited resources and has been framed
to ensure that Council can make significant headway with a series of defined
projects that each will contribute to delivering a cohesive town centre with a
bright future.
The Masterplan integrates with plans for the Sir John
Gorton Precinct and with areas identified by Council as priorities for
revitalization. It acknowledges that Fitzroy Street is of particular importance
and in need of immediate improvement.
Investigation
The Masterplan is based
on an investigation of the CBD that is grounded in identity and place. In order
to understand the deep nature of the town, to connect with what is valued, with
what can be improved and with what needs to change the Masterplan has been
informed by a series of activities designed to get under the skin of the town
and to see it with fresh eyes.
People
The Plan responds to
what stakeholders said through the following activities:
·
Reviewing
and analysing the wide-ranging consultation done as a part of the Community
Planning process
·
Undertaking
intensive face-to-face and telephone interviews with members of the community
that have businesses in the town and that represent various interests that
impact town life
·
Reviewing
key State and Local Government documents that have relevance for the town.
Place
The Plan reflects data
collected regarding the existing features and functions through the following
activities:
·
Investigating
the Masterplan site to explore the planning, services, traffic and functional
environment
·
Investigating
the site to explore the landscape and planting environment
·
Investigating
the site to look at locations of historical and heritage importance, to examine
architectural features and the cultural environment
·
Investigating
and observing existing user behaviour within the CBD
Stakeholders illustrated
their existing use and perceptions of the CBD
Potential
The Plan responds to the
opportunity for change through the following activities:
·
Investigating
areas that have been identified as needing upgrades, enhancements and
improvements
·
Exploring
underutilised assets
·
Investigating
untapped creative opportunities
·
Exploring
projects nationally and internationally as exemplars for redevelopment
This approach has
enabled the identification of parts of the town that work well, areas where
enhancements will improve experience and areas that will benefit from a
significant but creative intervention. It has enabled the further exposure of
the problems – those things that hold the town back and make it less attractive
for residents, workers and businesses. It has also exposed new ideas that can
move the town forward.
Approach
The Masterplan has been developed using an approach that
has been customised to suit the particular circumstances surrounding the future
of the Kerang CBD. The approach commences with the Vision and works through a
series of stages of development. It follows the strongly held view that it is
the people that make a place, and the CBD is a platform for people to come
together – hence the focus on experience and inclusion of activation as a key
opportunity.
Vision
The
Vision for Gannawarra Shire focused the Masterplan. Ensuring that Kerang played
its role in achieving this Vision was the primary goal.
Characteristics
The key
characteristics that Kerang needed to display were determined from careful
consideration of the Vision and the strategic planning and community
consultation activities.
Principles
Data
collection, research into exemplars and stakeholder consultation confirmed the
characteristics and defined a series of principles which guided the way the CBD
was examined and analysed. These also determined the places that would be the
focus of attention to best achieve the Vision.
Experience
The
experience that each place had to deliver was described. This informed the
overall design, the mix of landscape and built form and the opportunity for
programming and activity across the CBD. It ensured that people’s experience
would be the ultimate test of success.
Masterplan
A
holistic Masterplan was developed to embrace and integrate the various
precincts within and adjacent to the CBD. The Masterplan provides the context
for place specific design.
Places
The
Masterplan focusses on key places where the most impact can be achieved to
deliver the key characteristics, create identity and ensure a quality
experience.
Elements
A series
of elements was selected that would be used to deliver the experience at each
place.
Evaluation
The
design was tested to ensure that it delivered the experience, reflected the
characteristics and ultimately had the power to achieve the Vision
This
process is complex and iterative, reflecting the nature of a city, its many
users and its need to provide a flexible, developmental approach to
transforming the CBD over time.