Businesses, groups and organisations are coming together to reclaim the vibrancy of the Bundaberg CBD to create social, economic and infrastructure uplift.
The Safe Spaces, Thriving Places project has been launched by Bundaberg Regional Council which is actively working to facilitate collaboration between all stakeholders who can support an enhancement of the CBD.
Mayor Helen Blackburn said change was needed in the CBD and a whole-of-community approach would be critical to the project’s success.
“Safe Spaces, Thriving Places is really about recognising how important our CBD is to our community,” Mayor Blackburn said.
“It’s the hub of our community, not just in Bundaberg but the Wide Bay area.
“It needs to be a place for us to shop, access services find connection and celebrate what makes our region unique.
“It needs to be the heartbeat of our town and we’re working to keep it beating.”’
Mayor Blackburn said plans to revitalise the CBD had been on the drawing board for years but this project put them firmly back on the table.
“Council is reviewing design options for CBD infrastructure to ensure we balance modernising our city centre and improving accessibility with undertaking works that are within our community’s financial means.
“Our Compliance Services staff are actively supporting public safety with an increased presence in the CBD and in recent weeks have moved on about a dozen rough sleepers from shop and facility entries.
“But what we do know is there is no single action which will revitalise the Bundaberg CBD, which is why our approach through Safe Spaces, Thriving Places is about creating holistic change.
“Some of the challenges facing our CBD – like antisocial behaviour – can’t be solved by Local Government alone but we want to facilitate change and empower individuals, whether they are our business owners, our residents or those who are vulnerable in our community.
“I have heard from businesses and residents who tell me their most pressing concerns in the CBD are around personal safety which is why we’re sending the message that antisocial or threatening behaviours are not accepted by our community.
“Everyone has the right to feel safe.”
Mayor Blackburn has been advocating for additional support for the Bundaberg CBD to relevant services and agencies from Queensland Government Ministers to local organisations and said she had been buoyed by the response to date.
Queensland Police Service Bundaberg Patrol Group Chief Inspector Grant Marcus said local police were actively working on initiatives which would support the Safe Spaces, Thriving Places project.
“We are implementing a rolling Action Plan to address increasing community safety concerns around the behaviours of some persons within the Bundaberg CBD,” Chief Inspector Marcus said.
“Support from other policing forces across the Wide Bay Burnett will be utilised as part of this Action Plan.
“Additionally, we will be working in partnership with the other members of the Bundaberg Rough Sleepers Group to implement additional strategies to manage the impacts from the increased level of homeless people across the Bundaberg Region.”
CBD businesses were among the first to learn about the Safe Spaces, Thriving Places project with the Mayor, Councillors and Council staff hand-delivering flyers encouraging reporting of incidents to support data collection.
Mayor Blackburn said strong data was key to successfully advocating for increased support from other levels of government and industry.
Bundaberg Chamber of Commerce President Tim Sayre welcomed the launch of the program which he said was much-needed.
“The CBD is and should be a focal point of our great city and people should be able to appreciate it day or night,” Mr Sayre said.
“But this [project] is only the start, and we all have our part to play in achieving this.
“Which is why [the] Chamber is proud to be working with Council to build a thriving place with spaces we can all be proud of.”
Later this month Council will also put forward a motion at the Local Government Association of Queensland conference calling for greater State Government action to support local Councils in responding to housing and homelessness.
“Our CBD is too important not to take action,” Mayor Blackburn said.
Council’s priority actions list for Safe Spaces, Thriving Places
- outwardly reflecting our vibrant community by engaging and collaborating with CBD traders to explore opportunities for CBD activation
- increased cleaning of CBD pathways and areas
- focussed and targeted community development support to facilitate the coordination and collaboration of local support services. This will improve the homelessness response and outcomes for those in need of support
- advocating to relevant government representatives and departments about the need for accountability and transparency and increased support as relevant
- increased Compliance Services staff presence in the CBD to ensure regular and consistent enforcement of Council’s local laws and policies
- reviewing design options for CBD infrastructure to ensure we balance modernising our city centre and improving accessibility with undertaking works that are within our community’s financial means.
A survey is available for the community and CBD traders and staff to share their feedback and ideas on the project page here.
For the Safe Spaces, Thriving Places project the CBD is considered to be bounded by the river to Woondooma Street and Kennedy Bridge to the train line.
I’m all for a revitalising plan driven by the community. However will wait to see the plans. You can start by getting rid of all the inappropriate signage covering up our beautiful heritage CBD buildings
1. Introduce the homeless to the sleep bus & other existing homeless services.
2. Follow the plan we already have stop reinventing the wheel the existing CBD rework fits in nicely with the riverside masterplan & cultural precinct plan. Like there designed to complement each other.
3. Yes I know it’s slated as $30 million for the CBD rework but this is under 1/3rd the cost of the Aquatics center & actually needed. It’s also the cheapest of the announced plans.
Remember Mal Forman was going to deliver this plan if he was able to stand for a second term & it’s extremely likely we would have voted him back in. Jack Dempsey failed to meet his commitment to get it done.
If we stick to the plan we already have it will get done faster instead of having to wait while new plans are drawn up, costed, considered. It needs to be done ASAP or the CBD will be left behind compared to newer areas announced.
https://www.archipelago.com.au/project/bundaberg-cbd-revitalisation
@Verelle COx You must be new here Bundaberg CBD usto be significantly more showy with bright old style colored light globes around the signs, flashing displays, dressed windows with eleborate displays, fake snow on windows & reefs everywhere for Christmas ect.
If you go back futher in time to the 70s it actually got even more showy like it was from Vegas almost…
You don’t deserve businesses in our CBD. For similar cost to the Aquatics center you could have done both the CBD rework & the Cultural precedent. The businesses we do have should abandon our CBD & move. For not much more you could have thrown in the Riverside masterplan.
Worse is the aquatics center is a sub prime investment we will likely never see the money spend on it back. The CBD is where a huge amount of us work & earn our money it should have been priority.
You have abandoned our businesses in there time of need why should they have any confidence & don’t you dare blame it on a few homeless.
I find it very hard to back out of parking spaces when the majority of vehicles are big 4X4 vehicles and small sedans can’t see traffic coming until you’re into the traffic flow. Perhaps signage to alert drivers to watch for smaller cars trying to exit parks. I find it a growing problem.
Your intimation in previous postings that people who own investment property will be slugged with higher rates is certainly not helping the homeless problem. Owners will either sell their properties or increase rents to cover the increased costs – neither will help the situation. The CBD is currently no better than a ghetto & telling people that their behaviour is not acceptable is laughable – I avoid it as much as possible as I simply do not feel safe Suncorp Arcade was supposed to have been redeveloped years ago yet here it still is…the epicentre of a ghost town. Council needs to get its house in order & its priorities right or it will only get worse
Too late for me. I’m going elsewhere now. The place is filthy. It stinks. The toxic cigarette smoke is a health hazard. Chances are you won’t get a park and if you do, backing out is challenging because of all the oversized vehicles blocking your view. Disability parks are always taken by vehicles with no permit.
A t the council election (Mayor) Helen Blackburn promised us a rate reduction; what happened to it? Another lie to get elected.
It was wonderful to have morning tea with you, Helen, and also Councillor Tracy McPhee this morning. The ideas you have for the CBD are well thought out and much needed. It was great to be able to listen to all the ideas and get to chat to you about them with other business people. I was unaware of all of the issues and I am now fully on board with the plan. It will take a lot of effort and time but I am hoping for a great outcome. Well done!
The CBD needs a good clean, it is filthy and with no w as yet access the shop owners have mentioned it is out of their hands. The pavers need checking , raised pavers need reseating, I am an active person who broke my hand from a fall, still hasn’t been b attended to and when I rang all was said is we don’t pay any compensation- I didn’t want compensation I wanted it fixed so it didn’t happen to someone else
I have been accosted by homeless twice, am 74, was so frightened, hate going there and rarely do even though a couple of my favourite shops are there. Filthy dirty pavers and empty shop windows, toilets not safe, sad to see it go downhill so badly. Jack did nothing, hooe Helen does .
CBD definitely needs a good clean up. Including getting rid of the illegal tobacco shops in the centre of the CBD.
Trying to find a parking spot for Disabled is impossible. Most are taken by vehicles with no permit. Where are the parking inspectors ???
Back in the pre GFC era CBD many businesses usto hose down the sidewalk at 7AM each morning it would be mostly dry by the time customers start coming in. This would help so much if it was returned to a quick hose down each morning. This would also reduce cost for council.
Teach the public to not give homeless & beggars money it’s not used for food or shelter or education. It’s used to fuel the drug economy. That money could be being spent in our businesses by the person who earned it instead creating employment & opportunity.
A busker/street performer with a clean imagine is one thing but don’t give your money to beggars or homeless.
We have actually heard all this before….. the CBD is a shambles, actually hate driving through the town and Quay Street is the same…..