Tender awarded for Bathurst Town Centre Master Plan

MEDIA RELEASE 13 December 2019

The tender for the preparation of the Bathurst Town Centre Master Plan has been awarded to Allen Jack + Cottier Architects Pty Ltd.

In September, Council and Charles Sturt University entered discussions to formulate a plan to incorporate a new campus in the Bathurst CBD.

Mayor Bobby Bourke said the aim of the plan was to strengthen the Bathurst Town Centre as the regional business and cultural hub of the city in an era of significant retail change.

“I am thrilled to work with Charles Sturt University and commend the organisation on its commitment to Bathurst in investigating innovative responses to a changing market,” he said.

Director of External Engagement at Charles Sturt University Julia Andrews said thinking innovatively about how the University can contribute to the long-term social and economic vision of Bathurst is an important aspect of our University Strategy.

“The appointment of the consultant is an important milestone in the vision for Bathurst and we look forward to working with them and the community as the project progresses,” she said.

The plan also aims to:

· Position Bathurst as an education hub through Charles Sturt University’s strategic goal to create a new era campus embedded in the city centre in response to the need for a revised business model for higher education in Bathurst and thus attract greater inward migration into the region;

· Find a suitable adaptive reuse of the former Bathurst TAFE site located within the Bathurst Town Square at the heart of the Bathurst Town Centre;

· Identify other key development opportunities in the Town Centre creating linkages between them and stimulating new levels of activity; and

· Complement the heritage character of the Town Centre and Bathurst, which identifies as Australia’s oldest inland settlement.

ENDS

Media contact: Media Officer