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Mixing business with pleasure

A decade ago, Hornsby town centre was in decline, now it’s home to more then 2,500 new jobs created by the innovative integration of commercial and community space. Many shopping centres turn their backs on the community. Shiny on the inside, on the outside they can be just carparks and concrete. But Hornsby Shire Council worked with the private sector and the community to create a shopping precinct that opens its arms to community space.

Hornsby Shire Council has effectively taken two elements – the Town Centre and the Shopping Centre – and made them one. In many towns and localities, these two elements compete to mutual detriment. Here, they work together for mutual benefit.

Councillors, planners and the community agreed that what that they did not want to see was a shopping precinct in isolation from public space. When that happens, the result can be community life that closes when the shops shut, and public spaces that, without proper amenities, fall into neglect.

In the Hornsby Mall/Westfield Hornsby development, now in its second year, the shopping centre frames and embraces the public space of Hornsby Mall. In little more than a year it has become one of the Shire’s most important public spaces. The people of Hornsby Shire have embraced the mall, too. Restaurants and cafes are buzzing with al fresco dining well into the evening. School holiday entertainment combines with Council events such as Environment Day education stalls and Youth Week concerts. An evening noodle market attracted thousands, with noodle stalls and restaurants packed with patrons.

Examples of real community involvement in creating shopping centres are rare. But, as Hornsby Council has shown, if it is done right, community vision can create commercial success. A vital element was a process of effective consultation and transparent decision making.

As part of the development process, 400 businesses were notified for comment, along with 16,000 residents, businesses and property owners within a five kilometre radius of the site. The project proceeded with close consultation with the Hornsby and District Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Two public planning meetings were held, while development plans and models were placed on public exhibition for more than three months to receive maximum community feedback.

The Development Application was approved in 1998, with the development opening held in September 2001. Extensive consultation does not have to mean a drawn out process; indeed it can make for faster resolution, with matters of concern addressed early. The community partnership continues with the recent formation of the Hornsby Mall Consultative Committee, which includes stakeholder and community representatives. Possibly the highlight of community involvement in the Shire’s new town centre to date has been the 2003 multicultural street fair run with funding from the Community Relations Commission for a Multicultural NSW.

The result has been a project that meets community and commercial needs. It’s been a truly successful partnership.

The Hornsby Mall/Westfield Hornsby development was a finalist in the NSW Local Government Managers Australia’s Management Excellent Awards in 2002 in the category of Management Innovation.

The Hornsby Food and Wine Festival, which began last October with the OneWorld Street Fair, continues in 2004 on the third Friday of each month until March.

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