Torquay Town Centre Project Consultation Feedback
This document provides an overview of the feedback received from Phase 1 of the community
consultation activities conducted as part of the Torquay Town Centre Project. These activities
included a survey and two consultation sessions (a stakeholder Walking Tour and a
community Drop In Session). The main focus of the consultation was on identifying how
people use the centre, opportunities and issues and ideas to make improvements.
COMMUNITY SURVEY
In the early stages of this project a survey was developed and distributed to the community. It
was available for completion both online (though the Surf Coast Conversations website) and
in hard copy at the Council Offices, Sandbah Café and La Dolce Vita Cafe. Copies were also
distributed at the Torquay Farmers Market on 4 February 2017. Approximately 350 surveys
were received. The findings of the survey are summarised below.
Who filled in the survey?
How do they currently use the town centre?
What would make people use the centre more after 5pm?
The most common responses to this question were:
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A greater variety of dining opportunities
Longer opening hours for existing businesses
More events and pop-ups
More entertainment options; particularly live music, cinema
and theatre spaces
Improved streetscapes, particularly lighting and a more active
street life
Of the above the first two dot points were very dominant,
indicating a latent demand for additional dining opportunities
within the town centre.
How do people see the centre evolving?
What are people’s ideas and suggestions for the town centre?
A wide range of very detailed and interesting suggestions and ideas were received in response
to this question, a large number of which will be carried forward and tested by the project
team as the project progresses. The most common themes in response to this question can
be summarised as follows:
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Keeping the ‘local’ feel of the centre,
avoiding overly high development and
making sure local businesses are prioritised
over ‘big businesses’ such as Big Ws or
Kmarts.
Improvements to increase pedestrian
safety and amenity, including
reconfiguration and undergrounding of car
parking and tree planting.
Changes to Gilbert Street access, either
through pedestrianisation or the
introduction of a one way system.
The establishment of a town heart/focal
point for the community, along with more
opportunities for music and events in the
Town Centre.
Maintenance and lighting improvements
within the Town Centre.
Priorities for improvement
Responses to this question were fairly consistent, with improvements to Gilbert Street a clear
priority for Torquay’s community. The most common responses to this question were:
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Changes to Gilbert Street access, either through pedestrianisation or the introduction of
a one way system
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Improvements to the overall appearance of the town centre to make it more cohesive
and modern
A much stronger focus on pedestrian and cycle access, and smarter management of car
parking
Better public / private interfaces, managing overshadowing and scale, and the creation of
more dining and small business spaces
Design which reflects the local context and environment
TOWN CENTRE FORUM #1
The consultation event (Town Centre Forum #1) consisted of three elements: a project
stakeholder workshop, stakeholder walking tour and a community drop-in session.
Project Stakeholder Workshop
The project stakeholder workshop was held at the Surf Coast Shire council offices. The
workshop included council officers and councillors and representatives from organisations
and groups directly affected by the project. The project consultants gave a short presentation
outlining the opportunities and constraints of the town centre before discussion was open to
the room to build on these ideas and address issues not yet outlined. The main themes
covered in the discussion included:
 Identifying the main focus / role of the town centre and whether it is a tourist centre or
local service centre.
 The lack of public transport in the centre and the congested bus interchange at Pearl and
Boston Street. The potential for diverting buses along Zeally Bay Road.
 Improving the intersection of Zeally Bay Road and The Esplanade (especially right hand
turns) and the connection to Elephant Walk car park.
 Exploring the potential of introducing regional buses into the town centre.
 Amenity conflicts in new developments between commercial uses downstairs and upper
level apartments.
 Making improvements in the public realm including a consistent character and artwork.
 The role of Walker and Cliff Streets within the broader movement networks, issues with
the narrowness of Fisher Street.
 Opportunities for creating a night economy based on the potential for the development of
a cinema in the Council car parking area on Walker Street.
 Opening the visual connections to the foreshore from the centre.
 The potential for activating Coulson Lane and pedestrian connections to The Esplanade.
 The potential unpopularity of signalising the intersection of Gilbert Street and The
Esplanade.
 Appropriate height limits for Gilbert Street, and the potential need to identify targeted
areas for height limit increases where the community is comfortable.
 Opportunities for the development of a town square.
Stakeholder Walking Tour
The stakeholder walking tour brought together key members of the community consisting of
landholders and business owners within the Torquay town centre and representatives of the
Torquay Commerce and Tourism Association. Attendees were presented with a background
to the project before embarking on a tour of the town centre.
Key locations were stopped at during the tour where particular strengths and weaknesses
were discussed and ideas raised. The locations included:
 Zeally Bay Road to the south of Taylor Park
 Coulson Lane
 The intersection of Gilbert and The Esplanade
 Gilbert Street
 The intersection of Gilbert, Pearl and Bristol Street.
 Torquay Central
Stakeholders were encouraged to write down feedback during the tour which was submitted
at the end. The key themes and ideas raised during the walking tour were:
 Opportunities to activate the Zeally Bay edge of the town centre and make more use of
the Taylor Park views were highlighted – this could help define the town centre.
 Safety concerns and bad connections for accessing the town centre is inhibiting bicycle
access to the town centre.
 Opportunities to ‘expand’ or ‘connect’ the town centre into Taylor Park through better
connections and / or better gathering spaces.
 The potential expansion and activation of the edges of the Woolworths supermarket were
discussed, and the need to facilitate the removal of old buildings which create ‘eyesores’.
 The role of Zeally Bay Road in providing access to underground car parks, and issues with
turning onto The Esplanade were raised again.
 There was support for turning the area around Coulson Lane into an arts and culture
precinct with activated laneways and pedestrian connection through to the Esplanade.
 A need to ensure cars don’t dominate this lane and that spaces are activated will be
crucial.
 Discussion about how this could occur easily included ideas such as reducing the heights
of side fences to open up views.
 There was general consensus that the Council car park is ‘underutilised land’ and could be
used to develop key infrastructure or buildings, as long as car parking was still provided
(underground).
 There was much discussion about potential solutions to a crossing at The Esplanade and
Gilbert Street which was universally agreed on. Traffic lights were considered problematic
from a ‘character’ point of view, roundabouts are difficult for pedestrians and a variety of
views on one way systems for Gilbert Street were discussed.
 The need to provide car parking on site was highlighted as a disincentive for particular
development typologies and Council will need to consider how they can manage this to
get preferred outcomes.
 The public realm of Gilbert Street itself was thought to be a bit tired, unattractive and
dirty with an inconsistent image – a lot of scope for improvement.
 The idea of a central meeting place – somewhere to eat lunch, or the kids to play and have
an ice-cream was raised again.
 There was strong support for careful management of building heights along Gilbert Street,
while there is potential for additional height (set back) on the south side, care would need
to be taken on the north to avoid overshadowing.
 Infilling of the street along Gilbert Street so cars access from the rear (particularly the IGA
site) was seen as a much better outcome for pedestrians.
 The provision of car parking in new developments was highlighted as a limitation on
encouraging new development in the town centre.
 Maintenance and cleaning was again highlighted, particularly around the Cliff Street car
park.
 Encouraging a night economy through longer opening hours and increased night time
destinations to add vibrancy to the centre was raised as an important issue as well as
opportunities to increase nightlife, music etc (there’s nowhere to dance or listen to a
band!)
 There was strong agreement that Torquay Central was separated from the Gilbert Street
precinct with insufficient signage directing people towards the town centre. Strong
support for a more intensive building form along Bristol between Pearl and Payne to assist
with visually linking the two parts of the centre.
Community Drop-in Session
The community drop-in session was held in the evening at the Tapas Café on Gilbert Street.
Locals were informed about the event via direct mail to everyone in the study area, email,
and by notice in the Surf Coast Times and The Echo newspapers. Approximately 30 people
attended the event.
The room was set up with three ‘stations’ where attendees were encouraged to provide their
thoughts, ideas and feedback about the town centre.
 Station 1 provided an overview of the project and draft analysis diagrams were also
provided for review.
 Station 2 featured two A1 posters providing attendees with a diagram of the issues and
opportunities highlighted in the background analysis. Accompanying this poster was space
for attendees to write down their own ideas on the challenges and constraints of the town
centre as well as key opportunities. A map of the town centre was also on display where
attendees could draw ideas on or note down points of interest.
 Station 3 included examples of other town centres for consideration. It also listed ideas,
issues and opportunities defined through previous studies and provided attendees the
opportunity to provide their agreement with such ideas or note ideas they think needed
reconsidering.
Council staff and project members were in attendance to discuss ideas one-on-one with
attendees and to assist with the stations.
The main themes that emerged from the session were very consistent with those raised
through the survey and other events, and included:
 Retaining the ‘local’ feel and appearance is an important issue for the town centre.
 Increasing connections to the foreshore was raised as a very important issue.
 Increasing community spaces within the town centre gained strong support.
 Preferences were for Gilbert Street to become a one way street rather than fully
pedestrianised.
 Discussions about the intersection of Gilbert and The Esplanade again highlighted
concerns with signalisation.
 Creating a ‘green link’ between Gilbert Street and Taylor Park was very popular.
Town centre examples
The survey identified a series of town centre examples that should be considered as
precedents.
These were then tested at the drop in session, with findings as follows:
 Barwon Heads very popular, primarily based around materials, human scale at street
frontage, ‘coastal’ roof forms and consistent ‘coastal feeling’ streetscape treatment.
 Noosa (in particular Gympie and Hastings Street) also popular, primarily for the quality of
retail, the streetscape treatment and the street trees and other vegetation. Some concern
was expressed about the building forms.
 Lorne was seen as a good example in terms of the engagement with the foreshore, the
building frontages and the presence of lots of places to sit and enjoy
 Byron Bay and Daylesford were not seen as excellent examples.
Identified opportunities & challenges
The potential to focus on people not cars was the most supported of the identified
opportunities, with improved connections to nature and the resolution of existing access
issues were also confirmed. No major issues raised with the identified opportunities, and
general agreement was established.
In relation to the challenges faced by the town centre, fragmentation was noted, along with
comments suggesting a ‘refocus’ of the town centre was needed (to better use The Esplanade
frontage). However, the key challenge identified was the lack of a clear identity for the centre,
although the existing poor pedestrian environment was also strongly supported as a
challenge.
Specific comments received from the community at this session in relation to opportunities
and challenges were generally consistent with those identified by the project team and survey
results, noting some additional comments around:
 Public toilets,
 Tourist information