Busy local shopping strips get a makeover

Our small and large shopping strips and centres are the lifeblood of the local economy – we stop there to buy bread, milk, have coffee, buy last-minute gifts, and life essentials. It's also where we gather and chat with our neighbours and friends.

These areas are a key part of making the Northern Beaches a liveable, vibrant, and connected place. We have 92 commercial centres on the Beaches and we want them all to be attractive and popular for businesses and visitors.

Council is committed to renewing and improving the appearance, functionality, and capacity of our local shops. We are focussing on providing nicer and more functional public areas outside and around the stores, meeting areas, and parking spots.

As part of our Placescore survey completed in 2018, we asked residents how we could improve our local centres.

People said they wanted shopping areas upgraded, so we’re prioritising that. This year Killarney shops got a new central playground, landscaping, paths, and lighting. We are also assessing feedback recently received from the community about potential upgrades to Forestville, including updated paving, more seating, a central plaza, and feature lighting. And we will be asking the community for their feedback on upgrades to the public space at Sir Thomas Stephens Reserve, Church Point in the New Year.

Council is also still collecting feedback for the strip of shops at North Narrabeen. So far locals have told us that their top three priorities for the site along Pittwater Road were more outdoor seating options, cleanliness, and improvements to vegetation and street trees.

So, we have developed a plan to improve this area in front of the shops between Rickard Road and Gondola Road. The proposed concept design includes:

It’s not too late to give your feedback on these proposed upgrades. Have your say before December 22.