Mackay City Centre Local Area Plan

The Mackay region has sustained strong population growth in recent times, particularly since 2001. High population growth is expected to continue into the foreseeable future, and Council is anticipating a regional population towards 200,000 people by 2031.

In order to accommodate the high predicted population growth and to better balance and consolidate Mackay’s urban form, the City Centre will play an important part in achieving a more sustainable, consolidated and compact urban form through a highly diverse mix of uses and activities including higher residential densities. 

Council is working towards a Local Plan for the Mackay City Centre that will contribute towards achieving a City Centre that is diverse, vibrant and dynamic where residents and visitors alike can live, work and play. The City Centre fulfils a range of equally important roles and functions such as:

• a social place where people meet and interact, and exchange goods, services and ideas;
• a cultural place where art, history and lifestyle generate interest, delight and learning;
• a living place where people eat, live and sleep;
• a place of commerce where people work, innovate, learn and invest; and
• a recreation place for living, relaxing, enjoying and entertaining.

The main objective Local Plan is to ensure that the City Centre is maintained and strengthened, not only as the principal activity centre of a growing region, but also as a major regional city in northern Australia, ensuring it is a distinctive, diverse, attractive and sustainable urban environment. The Local Plan incorporates planning objectives and strategies that are practical and flexible to allow and encourage a broad mix of development to achieve this vision, whilst ensuring good urban design outcomes. It builds upon the current planning provisions and controls, with the aim of achieving increased investment, city liveability, high quality urban design outcomes and good development outcomes.

City Centre Strategy – Towards a Local Plan for the City Centre

Work is underway on the preparation of the City Centre Strategy document. This document builds on the outcomes of an Enquiry by Design workshop and sets out emerging policy, principles, outcomes and direction for future urban development and urban design outcomes in the City Centre. The document will demonstrate outcomes graphically whilst also articulating principles, strategies and purpose for various elements of the city.

The strategy will be made available for comment in the second half of 2012.  

City Centre Public Realm Concept Plan

The City Centre Public Realm Concept is a strategic document offering a conceptual design framework for public areas within the City Centre and fits in with the urban design principles key strategies canvassed in the City Centre Strategy. The Public Realm Concept suggests a number of ‘ready-to-go’ catalyst projects as the initial building blocks to achieving the City Centre vision. These projects combine to ensure that Mackay moves towards an active, liveable, accessible, culturally vibrant and attractive City Centre.

A key role for this project is to attract funding for public realm improvements.

Improving the public places and streetscapes within the Mackay City Centre offers our community the benefits of a modern CBD, while ensuring the physical environment keeps pace with business activity and community needs and aspirations.

The draft concept plan is about giving back to the community a public realm that fits a thriving city centre.

For more information on the Public Realm Concept please visit the Mackay City Centre website at www.mackaycitycentre.com.au

Local Area Plan Project History

Council commenced the Mackay City Centre Local Area Plan study in September 2010. The diagram below depicts the phases of the Mackay City Centre Local Area Plan project. 

The project team commenced with an appreciation of key issues and opportunities in the City Centre. From this exercise a Background Report was produced, which is available on this webpage. The background information within the report provided a basis for thought and discussions during the lead up to the Enquiry by Design (EbD) planning workshop, which ultimately informed this workshop. The Background Report reflects on where the city has come from, its influences (physical, environmental, economic and social), and how the city should be shaped into the future. The report details:

• the history of both revitalisation efforts and settlement pattern;
• reviews recent reports and investigations;
• highlights key issues and ideas;
• provides a city analysis that considers a broad range of issues and themes in terms of scale, heritage and character, access and circulation, views and gateways, infrastructure, and city structure;
• identifies public realm enhancements; and
• considers some models for city form.

Public consultation was undertaken on Background Report, which included a Public Exhibition at the Old Town Hall in Sydney Street and the City Centre Sunday Markets. Several submissions were received during the community consultation period, particularly at the 3 day public exhibition. These comments informed the planning workshop.

The workshop was held in March 2011, which involved a collaborative group of key government and community stakeholders to positively contribute and discuss the future planning needs, issues and options for the Mackay City Centre. Public sessions were held at the end of each day to allow community members to keep track of the workshop’s progress and provide comment.

The findings and outcomes of the workshop were summarised and added as a chapter to the Background Report. The document is split into two parts. Part A – Background Report contains the background information, while Part B – EbD Outcomes Report documents the outcomes from the EbD and provides a summary of the ideas and concepts that were explored in the workshop.

EbD Planning workshop outcomes report

Background Report – Part A (Background Report)

Background Report – Part B (EbD Workshop Outcomes summary)

Further Information  

Further information, important dates and progress updates in relation to the City Centre LP will be made available on this webpage as they become available. To find out more about the City Centre Local Plan project in general, please contact Council on 1300 622 529 or by sending an email to strategic.planning@mackay.qld.gov.au.