Bathurst Town Centre Master Plan to forge ahead

MEDIA RELEASE 22 May 2020

The future of the Bathurst Town Centre Master Plan is looking bright with Council looking at plans to push ahead with the strategy.

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

Mayor Bobby Bourke said Council is committed to completing the CBD master plan on time and on budget and is actively exploring a range of partners to implement its findings when they are finalised.

“While unfortunately Charles Sturt University has indicated it no longer intended to have a presence in the town centre, outcomes of the master plan are much bigger and hold a greater significance than just looking at options for a Charles Sturt University presence in the CBD. There may also be other parties that are interested in becoming an occupant of the town centre,” he said.

“The master plan has always been developed in the knowledge that Charles Sturt University, while expressing an interest up until this week, had not made any commitment to a CBD presence, nor the former TAFE building specifically, other than to explore the possibilities.

“I am pleased that the Bathurst Town Centre Master Plan and parallel projects such as the Health and Knowledge Precinct Plan and the Next Generation Performing Arts Review are continuing with Charles Sturt University’s support.”

Community and stakeholder engagement will be occurring again soon on the ideas that have been developed so far with social distancing measures in place.

ENDS

Media contact: Media Officer