26 June 2019
Masterton District Council will prioritise a rejuvenation of Park Street after engagement with businesses across the town centre.
The Council has been working with business operators and building owners around intentions to change the layout of Park, Bruce and the block of Queen Street between Jackson and Bannister Streets – referred to as lower Queen Street.
Initial plans have included increasing public space and greenery in each of the three streets alongside environmentally-friendly stormwater management.
The design process has been underway since the start of 2019, with continual changes made in collaboration with business operators and building owners.
The project reached a significant milestone in June with the second of two design phases complete.
Chair of the Town Centre Reference Group and Masterton District Councillor, Jonathan Hooker, said it was the right time to consider the next steps for the project.
“We’ve been through lengthy discussions with businesses and building owners to reach this point. Before we progressed on to the final, more detailed, design phase it was important to take a step back and consider the best way to proceed,” Councillor Hooker said.
Today the Council decided to move to the final design phase for lower Queen and Park Streets, with Park Street set as the priority for the first project to be constructed.
“This doesn’t mean we are forgetting about Bruce Street,” Councillor Hooker said.
“We have always been aware there is more work that needs to be done on Bruce Street, especially around parking, and that work needs to happen before we move on to the final stage of design.”
Moving on to the next phase of design for lower Queen Street will also pave the way for rejuvenation of the rest of the street, including reducing the time and cost to develop designs for additional blocks.
The Town Centre Revamp project is working to implement objectives that Council adopted in its Town Centre Strategy in 2018.
The strategy and all the up-to-date designs for Park, Bruce and lower Queen Street are available at www.mastertontown.nz