Toilets, parking, shade and seating were among the issues raised when consultants led a walk-through of the town centre last Thursday night to talk about what locals would like to see in a masterplan for the area.
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Between 30 and 40 people, including some business people and councillors, joined representatives of Group GSA to walk around the central business district and point out the good and bad.
The key issues raised were:
the importance of parking;
the need for a toilet in the northern end and Rankin Street side of town;
the need for shade on the western side of the street;
the importance of greenery and beautification;
the need for a green space, with shade, to sit and have a coffee;
the need to look at the demographics and cater for the population that we have;
need to improve retail retention in the CBD or at least be able to improve the appearance of these shopfronts.
Forbes Shire Council contracted the consultancy to, in partnership with AP Sheere, create a plan to improve Forbes’ town centre over about 10 years.
Consultants have been looking at the area for about a month now and were last week week in town to get the community’s perspective on what’s needed.
Director John Holland and associate landscape architect Felicity Ratcliffe outlined a number of goals for the project on Thursday night including to make Forbes engaging and attractive; and to recommend things to provide Forbes with a competitive advantage.
They held a meeting with the Business Chamber on Wednesday night and walked around Lachlan, Templar, Rankin and Lawler streets with interested community members on Thursday.
The walk around town included discussion of how the laneways between Rankin and Lawler streets could be used to connect the carparks to the CBD.
The consultants also had more than 260 responses to an online survey, all this information will be collated into discussion paper for Forbes Shire Council.
The draft masterplan is expected to be placed on public exhibition early next year.
