FOR years, residents and the council have wanted to do more with the Bathurst town centre, and now a major step is being taken to do just that.
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Bathurst Regional Council is after qualified consultants to prepare a master plan for the town centre.
As council describes, the plan needs to offer "a compelling but functional design to maximise opportunities for strategic city making and to achieve a knowledge-led transformation of the city of Bathurst".
A passionate supporter of a more vibrant town centre is councillor Monica Morse, who's pleased to see council chasing a master plan.
The initial Bathurst town square incorporated the area between Russell, George, Howick and William streets, including Kings Parade, but the area being considered is larger.
"The plan for the town centre will be bigger than that and we hope to get a plan that will look at planning for a whole range of projects," Cr Morse said.
Among the things she believes will need to be considered are the future use of the old TAFE building, opening up laneways in the central business district for public use and improving parking.
Cr Morse said that a number of options have been raised previously, including multi-storey car parks behind Bathurst RSL Club and Carrington Park, but other ideas would be open to consideration to cater to growing traffic volumes.
"Council has a policy that major retail development has to be in the CBD. We don't want satellite centres," she said. "We want to maintain the CBD as a hub and that is going to require more parking."
The old TAFE building on William Street has sat dormant for many years, but the master plan is expected to see it brought back to life.
The building is one of the locations under consideration as an in-town campus for Charles Sturt University (CSU), which has contributed $100,000 to the towards the town centre master plan.
Cr Morse said that, if this were to eventuate, it would result in a busier CBD.
"If that happens, that is going to generate a lot of movements, energy and excitement in the centre of town," she said.
Tenders close for the master plan on October 29.
Once tenders have been reviewed and the appropriate consultant awarded the job, it is expected there will be "considerable consultation" with residents and other stakeholders to develop the plan.
Cr Morse said it was vital that people actively participate in the consultation period to ensure that every idea is heard.
"I think we must encourage lots of people to have a say in this, even if they think their ideas are out there or silly," she said.
"You've got to tell your ideas now so they can be put into the mix."
She suspects consultation would start in early 2020.
