REVITALISING Chelsea’s shopping strip and increasing its greenery are among the community’s top two ideas to breathe new life into the suburb.
The City of Kingston received 481 submissions from the public about what they value and what they believe could improve Chelsea as part of the council’s This is Chelsea community consultation summary report. The report, presented to councillors at their September 23 meeting, is set to play a key role in informing the development of a Chelsea draft structure plan.
Community consultation took place between May 8 and June 21, with people sharing their thoughts on the area’s seaside lifestyle, the appearance and cleanliness of the shopping strip, vacant shops and retail mix, and parks and wetlands. There was also feedback on parking management, active transport and walkability, new development, navigating Chelsea, public spaces and community facilities, and community events and public art.
When asked what could be improved, residents, businesses, community groups and other stakeholders said addressing vacant shops and dumped rubbish, improving the tired look of the shopping strip and cleanliness, creating safer footpaths and planting more trees. Most respondents said they wanted the Chelsea shopping strip revitalised with a range of shops and evening venues as well as an improved streetscape that embraces the “coastal character”.
Upgrades to Bicentennial Park with more durable paths, water play, and a rock-climbing wall was also a popular idea. Other items listed in the top five ideas included traffic/parking, pedestrian movement, and community facilities such as foreshore boardwalk.
Longbeach ward Cr Georgina Oxley said there was “a lot that our community really does love about Chelsea; it’s a great place” but conceded it “needs a bit of love” to bring the suburb to life. “In this consultation report, there’s people were asked their ideas to improve Chelsea, and we can see some of those in terms of revitalising the shopping street, with a greater range of shops, improving the streetscape, embracing our coastal character, which is a big part of Chelsea. She added there was also a need for a direct pedestrian access across Nepean Highway from Station St “to make getting to the shops easier for people, as well as traffic and parking, which is a big thing in Chelsea that we’ve discussed a lot in this council chamber”.
“All of these things are things that we’ve heard from our community, we’re now developing a plan that we can do something about, a plan that will revitalise Chelsea based on feedback from residents and that is what makes me so excited about this plan.” “I’m hoping that very soon, once a draft structure plan is released, we will be able to see this plan come together for Chelsea,” Cr Oxley said, noting the community would be invited to provide further feedback.
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 2 October 2024