The chance to have a say in the future of Chapel Street has proven very popular, with the City of Stonnington working through more than 5,200 pieces of feedback received over the past 12 months from residents, businesses and visitors on its Chapel Street Transformation project.
Some strong themes have emerged about restoring Chapel Street to one of the world's great high streets, including greening the strip through more trees and planting, making the space safer and more inviting for families and pedestrians, and introducing more activities and events for all ages to enjoy.
This feedback is vital in identifying a way forward. Transforming Chapel Street requires more than just good planning. Council needs to work side-by-side with the community that live on, work at, and visit Chapel Street.
In listening to the community to better inform our visioning process, Council has taken on board what has been said, and will now undertake a number of key initiatives in 2024, before finalising a masterplan, to guide future investment in Chapel Street.
To inform the future masterplan, Council will undertake the following in 2024:
- a user behaviour study to help understand the travel, dwell-time and visitation habits of users and visitors and analyse the potential economic impact of any changes to layout
- a landowner forum to facilitate the sharing of knowledge, expertise and buy-in from ratepayers, landlords and business owners on the future of Chapel Street
- a competitor set analysis to better understand our competitors and what we can do to attract visitors and shoppers, and
- a state government agency forum to collaborate more effectively on the future of Chapel Street, with a view to shaping Council's future advocacy and funding efforts.
Whilst developing the masterplan, Council is also actively addressing safety and amenity concerns, ensuring:
- regular, ongoing maintenance of public assets and infrastructure
- removal and management of graffiti and street tags
- increased collaborative efforts with stakeholders such as police and social agencies to address anti-social behaviours and community safety issues, and
- continued advocacy with government authorities and utility providers to address the community impact of maintenance works.
It is anticipated the draft masterplan will be presented to the community and stakeholders for feedback in early 2025, before submission to Council for approval.
The record number of responses Council received through its Chapel Street Transformation engagement to date confirms Chapel Street as an iconic destination that is important to not only our residents but also the wider Melbourne community.
It is important we work together to transform this iconic precinct into a vibrant, thriving, creative and unique cultural destination, celebrating the distinctive identities of Chapel Street, and connecting people to place.
