FAQs

The East Mall project involves producing detailed concept designs for the future upgrade of the section of Beardy Street between Faulkner and Marsh Street, including intersections.

The East Mall project comes from the Armidale Mall Vibrancy Plan 2017 that was adopted by Council in March 2017. Upgrading the East Mall to rearrange the traffic flow and increase the number of parking spaces was identified as a key issue from the Mall Vibrancy Plan and was one of the key recommendations from the plan.

More info is available here: https://www.armidaleregional.nsw.gov.au/living-here/your-neighbourhood/mall-vibrancy-plan

The East Mall project has been part of the adopted Mall Vibrancy Plan since 2017. Council included the East Mall project in the 2022-2032 Community Plan for completion in the 2024 Financial Year. Additional funding became available last year so the project is now underway.

More info is available here: https://www.armidaleregional.nsw.gov.au/council/council-governance/integrated-planning-and-reporting-ip-r

The East Mall has been identified as an area of the CBD that lacks interest and has suffered a downturn in business over the past decade or so. The East Mall has not been upgraded since it was constructed in 1992. The surfaces are tired and dated and the current arrangement provides little aesthetic value to the Armidale CBD.  The lack of parking has also been identified as being a key issue over many years and has been addressed as part of this project.

The East Mall project aims to produce a detailed concept design that can be used by Council in future upgrade works. This project seeks to gather feedback from the public and key stakeholders (including business and property owners within the East Mall) to produce a design that can be adopted by Council.

Multiple concept options have been investigated and are now on public exhibition for feedback. The options have been informed by previous studies, feedback received from previous public exhibitions and in consultation with a key stakeholder working group.

All of the options for the East Mall have involved careful consideration of the following key design elements:

• Retaining some level of traffic.
• Embracing flexibility in the management of traffic and pedestrians.
• Exploring traffic flow and parking arrangements
• Increasing the number of parking spaces available.
• Intersection upgrades.
• Maximising amenity and activation generally.

The East Mall, alongside other areas of the CBD, have been investigated numerous times since 1992. Changes to the CBD were envisaged in 2003 and then again in 2015, 2017 & 2018. Whilst the East Mall was considered as part of these projects, and concept plans were developed, there is no Council adopted plan that can be used for construction.

The most in-depth review of the East Mall was undertaken in 2017 when plans were developed for all three sections of the Mall (East, Central and West). Whilst these plans were not adopted by Council, numerous aspects were supported in relation to the East Mall, including straightening the road and increasing the number of parking spaces available.

This project aims to produce plans that are endorsed by Council so that they can be constructed in the future.

Other projects of a similar nature have occurred in rural and regional towns around the state which have increased the street vitality generally and the viability of the businesses where works have occurred. Good examples of where streetscape improvements have boosted business are Inverell, Coffs Harbour, Maitland, Newcastle, Parkes, Port Macquarie, Singleton and others. The East Mall project will not only focuses on upgrades to the streetscape but has also investigated opportunities to revitalise shop fronts and improve pedestrian corridors to surrounding streets and carparks.

It is hoped that the works will be a catalyst for redevelopment in the East Mall generally and will trigger vibrant businesses to move back into the main street.

The East Mall has suffered a sharp decline in business health over the past decade. When the East Mall upgrade works were undertaken in 1992 only one shop was vacant, however the East Mall had a vacancy rate of around 40% in min 2023, which increased with the relocation of businesses into other areas of the CBD, including the Westpac Bank. If not addressed, this significant deterioration in commercial activity can result in the terminal decline of the CBD as remaining businesses look to move elsewhere and shops remain vacant for sustained periods of time.

The East Mall also provides an important link between Marsh Street and The Central Mall. In its current state the East Mall does not provide an attractive or welcoming appearance to travellers and tourists coming into town from the east and does not provide a good reflection on the beautiful heritage city of Armidale.

If the concept design phase of the project is successful and a set of plans are endorsed by the community and adopted by Council, funding for construction works will be sought at that time.

Council will likely be able to provide a portion of funding towards any future works through use of Section 7.12 Developer Contributions. However, it is likely that the project will also require a significant portion of external funding which will likely be in the form of State and/or Federal grants.

The East Mall project is being undertaken by King & Campbell who have extensive experience in undertaking streetscape designs and have seen many concept design projects ultimately come to realization. King & Campbell have been chosen to complete the project as they offer a significant time and cost saving for Council by having involvement in the Mall project in 2017.

King & Campbell have successfully designed and constructed streetscape and CBD improvements in regional and rural towns such as: Inverell, Parkes, Port Macquarie, Cowra, Glen Innes, Molong, Tamworth, Laurieton, Coffs Harbour and many others.

A Key Working Group has been established to ensure Council, and East Mall landowners and business owners are informed and consulted during the development of the draft designs. The Key Working group was established at the commencement of the project and will be involved through to completion.

Public exhibition will be targeted towards seeking feedback on the options that have been developed, including:

• Amount of additional parking
• Opportunities for street-trading and outdoor dining
• Opportunities for road closure during special events
• Landscaping, lighting, technology and street furniture designs
• Opportunities for heritage interpretation/improvement
• Building and façade improvements
• Improved pedestrian connectivity to surrounding streets and car-parks
• Materials selection and overall design

Feedback from the community is critical to producing a plan that is supported by the community and therefore is able to be endorsed by Council. We have developed a draft set of concept plans and are now seeking feedback from the public on the draft proposal.

The public exhibition phase will include the following:

• Shop Front operation in the East Mall at the outset of the Public Exhibition period to ensure people viewing the plans have the opportunity to speak directly to Council and the Consultant Team and gain a full understanding of the proposals. 
• Hosting an online ‘have your say’ page on Council’s website.
• Making hard copy plans available at the Armidale Council offices.
• Posting content on Council’s social media platforms.
• Producing media releases, fact sheets and FAQ’s.
• Producing a feedback form so that people can make a submission in a short format.

Once the feedback has been collated from the exhibition of the concept plans, a revised set of concept plans will be prepared and will be presented to Council for its consideration. Ultimately, adoption of the plan by Council will depend on the feedback received during the consultation phase and how the matters raised in the submissions have been addressed.

An opportunity to provide feedback is available at this ‘Your Say’ page. Please follow the prompts to answer our online survey or feel free to provide a written response addressed to Council.

Submissions are invited and must be addressed to:

                 The General Manager, 

                 Armidale Regional Council, 

                 PO Box 75A, 

                 Armidale, NSW 2350, 

Or sent by email to council@armidale.nsw.gov.au

Submissions can be made via hard copy at one of Council's offices (135 Rusden Street, Armidale, 158 Bradley Street, Guyra), in electronic format via email, or by completing the  survey.

Council staff and the consultant will also be available for face-to-face discussions.

Please feel free to drop into:

Where: Imperial hotel building - corner shop located on the ground floor (Intersection of Beardy & Faulkner Streets)

When: 9am – 4pm, Monday 4^th to Friday 8^th March 2024.

Who: Consultants (4^th and 5^th only), and Council staff.

Why: Your chance to come and view the plans and have your questions answered.