Late Items Agenda of Ordinary Meeting

ITEM 13 - MOLONG AND CANOWINDRA TOWN CENTRE CONCEPT DESIGN PROJECT FEEDBACK

REPORT IN BRIEF

Reason For Report	To inform Council of feedback received and confirm support to move forward with next steps as outlined
Policy Implications	Nil
Budget Implications	Nil
IPR Linkage	2.1.1.b - Implement CBD promotional activities and works in consultation with businesses and progress associations
Annexures	1. Community Tabulated Responses - Molong ⇩ 2. Community Tabulated Responses - Canowindra ⇩
File Number	\OFFICIAL RECORDS LIBRARY\ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT\PROJECTS\CANOWINDRA TOWN CENTRE ISSUES PAPER - 1180540

Recommendation

THAT:

1. The submissions table for the Molong and Canowindra Town Centre Plans, dated November 2020 be noted, and a copy of the document sent to all submission makers for their information as well as uploaded onto Council’s website for a period of no less than 21 days; and

2. Council adopt concept plans and confirm support to move forward with the next stage of the planning process and the development of Business Cases to support future funding applications

General Manager's REPORT

Council has previously been briefed on the progress of the Molong and Canowindra Town Centre concept design plans and of the strategic planning phases and community engagement undertaken towards their development.

Draft designs have now been displayed and a submissions table is attached for reference.

Overall there were 5 written responses for Molong with positive to neutral support during consultation; and 7 written responses to Canowindra with positive to neutral support during consultation and a relatively small number (in proportion to the town) of negative responses to the proposal for use of palm trees as landscape features. It is noted that those who objected to the palm trees during the public forum also made written submissions, and the response may therefore not be representative of broader community opinion.

A summary of findings for feedback on the Molong Town Centre Plan

· Total of 5 written responses

· Community consultation was carried out on 28 October; Bank Street kiosk during the day and RSL Club that evening:

§ Approx. 20 - 25 people reviewed the plans during the day and were neutral to positive in their response

§ Attendees at the evening meeting were neutral to positive in their response too

There were some specific comments raised that have been addressed by the consultants as follows:

· Ref 1.01 – The Bank Street trees species proposed are Zelcova serrata 'Green Vase' which has innocuous seeds. These trees are being used on George Street (in Sydney) as they don't interrupt traffic, overhead wires and have non-noticeable seeds. There mature spread is 10 metres so will offer amenity and shade

· Ref 1.01 (continued) – There have been some concerns raised with regard to large vehicle manoeuvres and operational access with trees in the main street. The design accommodates for this as there are regular breaks between the trees to allow for unrestricted reversing and flush grades throughout

· Ref 1.03 - It was discussed at the Molong Town Centre presentation of the Public Exhibition Plans (28/10/20) that representatives from the community would select two colour pots: 1) main street 2) laneway. Each pot will then be trialed to gauge community response and allow feedback before installing throughout the main street

· Ref 1.03 (continued) – The proposed ornamental tree in pots are Largerstroemia indica 'Sioux' which set fruit 8-10mm diameter. The fruit opens up whilst attached to the tree, so the seed capsule when it falls has opened and is dry verse a hard, round ball

· Ref 1.10 – It is recommended that this water filtration treatment is trialled so success and maintenance can be monitored

A summary of findings for feedback on the Canowindra Town Masterplan and Main Street Precinct Plan

· Total of 7 written responses

· Community consultation was carried out on 29 October; The Old Vic Inn during the day and Canowindra Services Club that evening:

§ Approx. 11-15 people reviewed the plans during the day and approx. 18 people attended the evening presentation. Their responses can be summarised as:

· Positive response to the proposed circuit paths, riverside paths with better linkages and connectivity

· Positive response to the Riverside Park and creating a destination at the Swinging Bridge

· A range of responses from positive through to negative for the use of Palm trees as a wayfinding element to the main street

· Neutral to negative response to the proposed treatment of stairs/ ramp at Finn’s Store

There were some specific comments raised that the consultants would like to address and suggest the following changes to the plans:

· Palms (Washingtonia robusta & Phoenix canaeriensis) have been selected, as part of the main street wayfinding, as they are like flags which assist visitors in visually finding the main street. There are strong cultural links to their planting in Canowindra, they are iconic to the town and are not classified as a weed in NSW. Also, the Phoenix canaeriensis community donation initiative will mean that the number of Palm trees in Canowindra will not increase. The use of Palms has been reduced to include only critical wayfinding locations:

§ The Highway and Gaskill Street corner

§ Junction of Gaskill Street and Ryall Street

§ Canowindra Services and Citizens Corner

§ Age of Fishes at the junction of Ferguson Street

· Alternative tree species, with an emphasis on suitable natives, will be used in the following locations where Palm were proposed:

o Canowindra Road/ Sheps Corner on Ferguson Street

o Longs Corner Road and Canowindra Road;

o Showground corner and northern town entrance

o Blue Jacket Motel corner and southern town entrance

· Finn’s Store pavement be reconfigured to remove the ramp, standardise the width of the stair treads and install a new hand-rail

Feedback received will be considered in the next phase of the process, which would be the detailed design aspect of the plan.

Next Steps

With feedback received on the concept plans, the next step in the process would be to move towards the detailed design phase of planning. Further consultation will be undertaken broadly, and with particular interest groups, in this phase with the outcome to be the detailed planning documents.

With the availability of Federal and State funding for projects such as these, it is now timely to progress with development of business cases for these projects as soon as possible. These business cases will define project benefits and economic value of implementation of these plans and will provide a foundation for upcoming grant funding opportunities. To facilitate this, Council has received an offer of funding valued at $20,600 from the NSW Government and Central West JO to assist in the procurement of these business cases.

GENERAL MANAGER’S TABLED REPORT ON MATTERS FOR NOTATION SUBMITTED TO THE Ordinary Council Meeting TO BE HELD ON Tuesday 24 November, 2020

Page 1

ITEM 8 - DIGITAL MARKETING WORKSHOPS - CENTRAL NSW BUSINESS HQ

REPORT IN BRIEF

Reason For Report	To inform Councillors of the Digital Marketing Workshop.
Policy Implications	Nil
Budget Implications	Nil
IPR Linkage	2.3.1.a - Identify and Implement Business assistance strategies
Annexures	Nil
File Number	\OFFICIAL RECORDS LIBRARY\ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT\REPORTING\COUNCIL REPORTS - 1180714

Acting Leader - Community & Economy's REPORT

Council’s Communications & Marketing Coordinator has provided the following summary.

As part of the Newcrest Business Beyond the Curve Program, Central NSW Business HQ are running two free digital workshops. Council is supporting the events through assistance in promotion.

The program is designed to provide assistance to small businesses in the Orange, Blayney and Cabonne Local Government Areas that have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic.

They two events have the following details:

Canowindra

Tuesday 1 December 2020

7:30am – 9:00am

The Old Vic Inn

Molong

Wednesday 2 December 2020

7:30am – 9:00am

Freemasons Hotel

Both events are free, and breakfast is included.

The aim of the workshop is to educate small business owners about the basics of Google and the importance of having a strong website, as well as the recent changes to Facebook Pages and Instagram.