Hastings Alive – City Centre Revitalisation

The Hastings City Centre Revitalisation Plan was adopted by Council in February 2019 following extensive consultation with stakeholders and the community. The plan will help improve the performance of the city centre through urban design initiatives, to create a distinctive and vibrant city centre.

Hastings Alive PinkGrad

The plan identifies 23 enhancement projects that Council will develop over the next five years. These projects aim to create vibrant, functional and distinctive places that attract people, recognise and celebrate the character, history and culture of the area, create stronger first impressions, and reinforce the city centre as a key destination. This revitalisation initiative is known as 'Hastings Alive'.

The scope of this plan extends to the enhancement and development of the following public spaces:

green spaces
hospitality spaces
laneways and pedestrian links
street upgrades
street amenity improvements.

To achieve its purpose, the plan dovetails with traffic and parking initiatives designed to make the city easy to access; and with economic initiatives which focus on promoting business in the city centre.

Opportunities

The city centre has many positive attributes that can be built on, including:

ongoing positive retail statistics
anecdotally, good market conditions for boutique retail and unique food and beverage businesses
relatively legible traffic and pedestrian layout with the majority of buildings aligning with and addressing the street
good walkability due to the flat terrain and highly connected network of streets and lanes
unique and distinctive heritage character of a relatively intact urban fabric with building facades that can be retained
artwork telling the story of historic and culturally relevant aspects of Hastings
high-quality established palette of streetscape features and furniture that reflect the historical and cultural narratives of the district (art deco snake lights, hook of Maui seats and cycle stands) in the heart of the city centre
many established corner-site kerb buildouts available for more intense use
sufficient public parking
a willingness within Council and large sectors of the community to invest in improving the quality of the city centre
some large areas of Council-owned property that provide development opportunities.

Revitalisation Plan

Hastings City Centre Public Spaces Revitalisation Plan

This Hastings City Centre Public Spaces Revitalisation Plan (the Plan) will enable the delivery of key projects identified in the Hastings City Centre Strategy 2013-2033. The projects specifically relate to the provision and enhancement of attractive and inviting public open spaces in the city centre. Together with a number of other Council initiatives, these projects will contribute to further positive improvement in the vibrancy of the city.

Hastings City Centre Public Spaces Revitalisation Plan (PDF | 7.6 MB)

Proposed activation areas and projects for 2019/2020

Of the 23 proposed activation areas within the city centre (as identified in the Public Spaces Revitalisation Plan) the 10 projects below have been identified for start dates in 2019/2020.

Activation areas