Armidale East Mall Redevelopment

The East Mall, alongside other areas of the CBD, have been investigated numerous times since 1992. Changes to the CBD were envisaged in 2003 and then again in 2015, 2017 & 2018. Whilst the East Mall was considered as part of these projects, and concept plans were developed, there is no Council adopted plan that can be used for construction.

The most in-depth review of the East Mall was undertaken in 2017 when plans were developed for all three sections of the Mall. Whilst these plans were not adopted by Council, numerous aspects were supported in relation to the East Mall, including straightening the road and increasing the number of parking spaces available. This project aims to produce plans that are endorsed by Council so that they can be constructed in the future.

Multiple concept options will be investigated and placed on public exhibition for feedback.

The options will be informed by previous studies and feedback received from previous public exhibitions.

All of the options for the East Mall will involve careful consideration of the following key design elements:

• Retaining some level of traffic.
• Embracing flexibility in the management of traffic and pedestrians.
• Exploring traffic flow arrangements
• Increasing the number of parking spaces available.
• Intersection upgrades.
• Maximising amenity and activation generally.

Public exhibition will be targeted towards seeking feedback on the options presented, which will include different configurations of the following streetscape elements:

• Amount of additional parking
• Opportunities for street-trading and outdoor dining
• Opportunities for road closure during special events
• Landscaping, lighting, technology and street furniture designs
• Opportunities for heritage interpretation/improvement
• Building and façade improvements
• Improved pedestrian connectivity to surrounding streets and car-parks
• Materials selection and overall design

The East Mall project involves producing detailed concept designs for the future upgrade of the section of Beardy Street between Faulkner and Marsh Street, including intersections.

The East Mall project aims to produce a detailed concept design that can be used by Council in future upgrade works.

This project seeks to gather feedback from the public and key stakeholders (including business and property owners within the East Mall) to produce a design that can be adopted by Council.

The project will involve rigorous consultation at multiple times throughout the project where feedback will be sought on the proposed design.

The East Mall project aims to produce a detailed concept design that can be used by Council in future upgrade works.

This project seeks to gather feedback from the public and key stakeholders (including business and property owners within the East Mall) to produce a design that can be adopted by Council.

The project will involve rigorous consultation at multiple times throughout the project where feedback will be sought on the proposed design.

The East Mall project has been part of the adopted Mall Vibrancy Plan since 2017.

Council included the East Mall project in the 2022-2032 Community Plan, with the project being identified in the Delivery Program for completion in the 2024 Financial Year.

Additional funding became available this year so the project is now able to commence.

More info is available here.

Public consultation is anticipated to be undertaken in early 2024. Feedback will be sought on the concept design options presented. Popular design elements from the concept designs will be used to produce a revised design which will then be reported to Council and placed on public exhibition for final feedback. Feedback is anticipated to be sought on the revised concept design in Mid-2024.

The East Mall project comes from the Armidale Mall Vibrancy Plan 2017 that was adopted by Council in March 2017.

Upgrading the East Mall to rearrange the traffic flow and increase parking supply was identified as a key issue from the Mall Vibrancy Plan and was one of the key recommendations from the plan.

More info is available here.

If the concept design phase of the project is successful and a set of plans are endorsed by the community and adopted by Council, funding for construction works will be sought from various streams at that time. Council will be able to provide a significant portion of funding towards any future works through use of the Section 7.12 Developer Contributions funds.

However it is likely that the project will also require external funding which will likely be in the form of State and/or Federal grants.

The East Mall project is being undertaken by King & Campbell who have extensive experience in undertaking streetscape designs and have seen many concept design projects ultimately come to realization. King & Campbell have been chosen to complete the project as they offer a significant time and cost saving for Council by having involvement in the Mall project in 2017.

King & Campbell have successfully designed and constructed streetscape and CBD improvements in regional and rural towns such as: Inverell, Parkes, Port Macquarie, Cowra, Glen Innes, Molong, Tamworth, Laurieton, Coffs Harbour and many others.

A Key Working Group will be established to ensure Council, and East Mall landowners and business owners are informed and consulted during the development of the draft designs. The Key Working group will be established at the commencement of the project and will be involved through to completion.

The East Mall has been identified as an area of the CBD that lacks interest and has suffered a downturn in business over the past decade or so.

The East Mall has not been upgraded since it was constructed in 1992.

The surfaces are tired and dated and the current arrangement provides little aesthetic value to the Armidale CBD.

The lack of parking has also been identified as being a key issue over many years and will be addressed as part of this project.

The East Mall has suffered a sharp decline in business health over the past decade. When the East Mall upgrade works were undertaken in 1992 only one shop was vacant, however the East Mall has a current vacancy rate of around 40%, which has increased recently with the relocation of businesses into other areas of the CBD, including the Westpac Bank. If not addressed, this significant deterioration in commercial activity can result in the terminal decline of the CBD as remaining businesses look to move elsewhere and shops remain vacant for sustained periods of time.

The East Mall also provides an important link between Marsh Street and The Central Mall. In its current state the East Mall does not provide an attractive or welcoming appearance to travelers and tourists coming into town from the east. The East Mall does not provide a good reflection on the beautiful heritage city of Armidale.

Other projects of a similar nature have occurred in rural and regional towns around the state which have increased the street vitality generally and the viability of the businesses where works have occurred. Good examples of where streetscape improvements have boosted business are Inverell, Coffs Harbour, Maitland, Newcastle, Parkes, Port Macquarie, Singleton and others. The East Mall project will not only focus on upgrades to the streetscape but will also investigate opportunities to revitalise shop fronts and improve pedestrian corridors to surrounding streets and carparks.

It is hoped that the works will be a catalyst for redevelopment in the East Mall generally and will trigger vibrant businesses to move back into the main street.