Richmond, Windsor and South Windsor’s $18m facelift gets go-ahead

A once-in-a-generation major facelift for Richmond, Windsor and South Windsor costing $18m has been given the green light and will lead to a range of projects to help boost Hawkesbury town centres.

Members of the community working group – Alica Goldstein, Cllr Emma-Jane Garrow, Abigail Ball, Sue Paine, Cllr Danielle Wheeler

The project – officially called the Liveability Fund – sees eight City councils including Hawkesbury each given $15m from state and federal governments, with each council also adding $3m to their own packages, as part of the Western Sydney City Deal.

The project has been a long time coming, with initial discussions starting in 2017, but the scheme is extensive and much work has been already put into working out the best outcomes from the funding.

“This was a unique set-up because the contributions were equal for all councils regardless of size – too often smaller councils like ours do not receive the same funds as larger councils,” said Deputy Mayor Mary Lyons-Buckett.

“Our former General Manager Peter Conroy was instrumental in assisting the drive for this fund – which hopefully will deliver more funding into the future.”

Each of the eight councils chose a liveability project within their local government area, with Hawkesbury’s being the Towns Centres Revitalisation Project, an initiative now well underway thanks to the working group headed up by Cllr Danielle Wheeler, Cllr Emma-Jane Garrow and leading business and community representatives.

“The funding will give a much needed boost to our town centres which fits in perfectly with the recovery phase underway from COVID, bushfire and flood impacts,” said the Deputy Mayor.

“I would like to acknowledge the hours put into this project by staff, the working group and especially by Peter Conroy. As Mayor at the time I witnessed it grow from a minor component of the City Deal to a core initiative with major funding spread equally across the newly forming parkland city. The rationale was that in building a regional city all component council areas should benefit rather than just some.

“It has been wonderful to see public input about the plans, and it will be exciting to see the project now come to fruition – it seems like a long time coming but I have no doubt it will be well worth it.”

Here’s a snapshot of the projects coming to a town near you:

WINDSOR

George Street – A green tree boulevarde from the Mall all the way to the railways station, improved street furniture, public art, cleaning of the town centre.

Windsor Mall South, between Fitzgerald and Kable Streets – trees to be planted to align with the rest of George Street, creating clear sightlines, high quality furniture and lighting, reintroduce car parking, creation of an adaptable space for markets and events.

Windsor Mall North, between Kable and Baker Street – extend tree planting to align with the rest of George Street, high quality pavement, street furniture and lighting.

Thompson Square – Outdoor dining upgrades, cleaning, tidying, sightlines improved.

SOUTH WINDSOR

George Street Streetscape – A green tree boulevard with street trees linking South Windsor all the way from McLeod Park to the train station. New seating with parklets – small places to sit and watch the world go by.

Bereewan Park upgrades – There will be a staged plan for works with the initial upgrade to include tree planting and formalisation of the path network, plus an investigation into a potential community garden.

RICHMOND

Windsor Street – A green tree boulevarde, new seating (parklets to provide opportunities for outdoor dining) and improved lighting.

Richmond Park – New seating, and improved pedestrian connectivity to town.

Consultants are now working on detailed design for all projects, which will include all relevant development approval, traffic management, and working out the best times for construction to minimise the impact on businesses. Following this, council will consider whether works will be undertaken concurrently or sequentially.

The detailed design phase will outline each project’s scope, timing and any issues, and will be submitted to council for their consideration and approval.