Esperance town centre plan nearing completion
Esperance is on the verge of finalising a $43 million strategy to revamp its town centre, with only one stage of the approval process remaining.
The Shire of Esperance last week endorsed a series of modifications to its Town Centre Revitalisation Strategy, which will be considered by the Esperance Chamber of Commerce and Industry next month.
Provided the ECCI does not request any major changes, the plan will be finalised and submitted to the Department of Regional Development.
A draft strategy for the project, which outlines a major redevelopment of Esperance's town centre, was released for public comment in October last year.
The strategy will create a dramatic change in the structure of the town in the next 20 years, with a view to transforming the town centre to encourage more foot traffic.
Significant focus will also be placed on increasing Esperance's population, as growth has stagnated over the past decade.
More than 80 submissions were made to the Council, with a significant portion referring to issues with parking in the CBD and the future of the James Street cultural precinct.
Acting Shire president Victoria Brown thanked the public for the extensive input provided in the four-month consultation process.
"It is a credit to the Esperance community that so many people contributed during the engagement and consultation period," she said.
Cr Brown said once the plan was finalised, a parking strategy would be one of the first actions on the agenda for the Shire, given the high level of community interest.
