Susanna Freymark
The Casino CBD Master Plan is part of Richmond Valley Council’s strategy for the next 25 years.
How could Casino look and function in 25 years?
The council’s strategy is for a “vibrant, connected, walkable and investment-ready CBD.”
This draft vision for Casino was agreed on at the June 30 council meeting and will be on exhibition for public feedback.
At the meeting councillor John Walker left the chamber during the discussion because of his RSM Group involvement.
Mayor Robert Mustow said this is a 25-year strategy.
“It will take time and it won’t happen in the next few years,” he said.
General manager Vaughan Macdonald said it set “a bold vision for what Casino CBD can be.”
“We identified three pilot sites – RSM properties, Days Machinery and Richmond Valley Council,” he said.
He wants to see the CBD keep its art deco feel and encouraged people to be open to new ideas of what Casino could be.
“We secured $1million from Safer Cities,” Mr Macdonald said.
Director of planning and sustainable communities Tina Kai said the Her Way program was funded by Transport for NSW. Read about that program here.
A study of the CBD showed there was availability for more than 1000 new shops and almost 2500 new dwellings. The study showed that this more than meets the demand projections for Casino by 2041. Building height in the CBD would increase to support three to four storeys.
Three pilot sites are the focus of the plan. These sites were chosen to lead the strategy because they support commercial activity and are less affectedly flood and heritage constraints. The plan doesn’t specifically say what will happen at these sites – just that they bound the outer area of the commercial core of Casino CBD.
There are Street Design Guidelines included in the strategy.
“Different parts of the town centre have different roles: some operate as heritage-led retail streets, others as civic or education edges, river links, residential interfaces, gateways or transport corridors,” the report said.
The character of each precinct affects the design of what happens in that area such as character, the role of the part of town, street elements and palette.
The Casino CBD Character Precincts map is shown in the diagram below.
The report said when the community was consulted it confirmed that “people see Casino CBD as much more than a shopping strip – it is the everyday heart of a country town, a place of memory and events, and a gateway to the river and wider valley. Most people like the scale and feel of the town centre and want it to work better, not to be transformed into a city.”
The council said it will be holding information sessions to get feedback upon the CBD plan.
All Richmond Valley Counicl related stories are in one place at the Indy. Go here.