Lord Mayor and Chief Executive have their eye on the future of Adelaide

Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor and City of Adelaide chief executive Clare Mockler are leading Adelaide into the future with the first City Plan in more than 30 years.

The Lord Mayor and Chief Executive are embarking on the extraordinary step of mapping out the next 10 years to plan for and shape Adelaide’s future.

Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor said the Council is strategically investing in making Adelaide a vibrant and culturally alive city where our people have the jobs, opportunities and lifestyle they want in Australia’s most liveable city.

“A city plan is your roadmap as to how to achieve that,” the Lord Mayor said. 

“If our ambition is to increase our city population to 50,000 by 2041 then we need to plan where and how the growth is going to be managed and how we are going to best cater for the evolution of our city.

“We need to consider and plan how people are going to access and move through the city using all modes of transport – an integrated solution to bus routes, cars, bike paths, e-scooters, trams and, of course, safe and green footpaths for pedestrians.

“If we are going to have more children in the city, then where are the playspaces? Do we need another school? If we’re going to have more pets, then where are the dog parks? How far away is anyone in the city to the green, open space of our Park Lands? What cultural infrastructure - libraries, community centres, city sheds - is needed and where they should be located?

“It will allow us to imagine the city as a multitude of separate but connected spaces and places. Destinations for the best dining areas, to see performances and exhibitions, to go to night clubs or quiet places for reflection.

“In a city that is a UNESCO City of Music, a city of makers and creators, where I see can transition smoothly from day to night, from summer to winter, the City Plan will also guide our event infrastructure investment.”

The Lord Mayor said the City Plan will guide Council’s current and future plans including a focus on climate action, greening of streets, our Park Lands Management Strategy, our infrastructure and asset maintenance plans and our main street development masterplans.

“The main street masterplans, currently being worked on in collaboration with our residents, businesses and property owners, will create bespoke identities in different pockets of the city. Hutt Street is intrinsically different to Hindley Street, which will be very different to Melbourne Street, which is different again to O’Connell Street and the Market District because they all offer different experiences,” the Lord Mayor said.

“In essence, all future development must talk to the city plan, any access strategy must talk to the City Plan, the Adelaide Park Lands Management Strategy, all of your main streets, assets and infrastructure plans, in fact everything should connect to the City Plan. And then in turn, the City Plan is an integral part of the Greater Adelaide Plan.”

City of Adelaide chief executive Clare Mockler said the City Plan would also provide certainty to business and help attract investment to Adelaide.

“The State Government is now reviewing the 30 Year Plan which is how growth and investment will evolve in the state over the next 30 years and what the City Plan will do is talk to that in the context of the city,” Ms Mockler said.

“It will look at role of the city to help support South Australia’s economy. A healthy city underpins a strong state.

“The plan will provide certainty to developers around where to invest in the city and provide guidance as to where growth will be.

“If our ambition is a population of 50,000 by 2041, where is that population going to live and work?

“If we think about where the city is at in a Covid context, is the CBD going to be the workforce base for the next 20 years – so what might we need to do differently from a land use perspective to make sure the economy of the city is still vibrant and viable and grows?

“A City Plan is how we achieve that.”