Augusta Streetscape Concept Plan and Precinct Plan

Augusta Streetscape Concept Plan

Background

The Shire has developed a Streetscape Concept Plan for sections of the Augusta main street (Blackwood Avenue) and a small section of Ellis Street.

The Concept Plan will guide improvements which will progressively be undertaken by the Shire including footpaths, landscaping, car parking, and traffic lane modifications.

Community Consultation

From December 2023 to April 2024, we undertook two phases of community consultation. The first phase involved gathering feedback on several preliminary concept plans for sections of Blackwood Avenue. Based on community feedback, a draft plan was then prepared. Phase 2 sought community feedback on the draft Concept Plan, with a community meeting held in March 2024.

The consultation was well received with over 120 survey responses, verbal and email submissions, and community group submissions.

Final Augusta Streetscape Concept Plan

The Augusta Streetscape Concept Plan was approved by Council in September 2024.

View Augusta Streetscape Concept Plan

Council resolved to adopt the Concept Plan with a minor modification to clarify the retention of the Cook Island Pines already existing along Blackwood Avenue and introduced the requirement for a Community Reference Group to be formed, assisting in the development of the detailed plans.

Implementation

Now that Council have endorsed the Concept Plan we can move onto working out the finer details. We anticipate that detailed design will occur in the 2025/2026 Financial Year. An expression of interest will be open for interested community members to join the Community Reference Group in Mid 2025.

We expect aspects of the Concept Plan will be implemented in stages over a number of years. The Concept Plan will require significant financial investment through external funding. Now that we have finalised the Plan, we can start looking into potential funding opportunities.

Augusta Precinct Plan

Along with the Augusta Streetscape Concept Plan, we will be preparing a new strategic plan for the Augusta precinct. The broader precinct plan will provide guidance on:

• Building design guidance for the town centre and surrounding residential areas, with the intention of maintaining the existing Augusta character;
• Opportunities to improve pedestrian, cycling and vehicle access into the town centre area;
• The redirection of caravans and long vehicles from Blackwood Avenue and potential caravan parking at the Civic Precinct;
• An incentive to retain significant native vegetation on private lots.

We are continuing to investigate more strategic level changes which will inform our Precinct Plan, but we didn’t want this to hold up the development of the Concept Plan. We anticipate consultation for the precinct plan will start after the endorsement of Local Planning Scheme No.2, which is expected to occur in November 2024.