Creativity to hit Oxford St for Christmas

Creativity and culture to hit Oxford Street by Christmas as City of Sydney announces new plans

City of Sydney has finally committed to a long-discussed project aimed at bringing back some glitz and creativity to lower Oxford Street, following a council meeting last Monday where the plan received unanimous backing.

The project to reactivate Oxford Street will involve council leasing some of its now-empty properties to creative and community groups for reduced or minimal rent, similar to the successful ‘Renew Newcastle’ scheme.

For a number of years, business owners and residents along the famous strip have been complaining of a lack of viable day-time trade and decline in community atmosphere.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said while Oxford Street “could be better” it was up to the local community to support the newly announced plans.

“We want to give artists, jewellers, designers and writers – and other creative start ups and cultural groups – access to low cost studios and spaces on Oxford Street.

“A call for expressions of interest will go out in the next month, and we aim to have the first wave of creative people moving into studio spaces by Christmas.”

Council’s short-term plan for the street will also involve the planting of hanging flower baskets to beautify the area, and also more day-time waste clean-ups.

The City has also committed to transforming Oxford Street into a cultural and creative quarter for the longer term.

It announced that it will conduct a study on the viability of creating much needed artist live/work studio spaces in additional City owned properties around the precinct over the next three to five years.

Lawrence Gibbons, president of the 2010 Business Partnership, welcomed the revitalisation plans, suggesting that local businesses leaders had for a long time been arguing for the need to take such actions.

“Similar urban renewal projects in the US and Europe have successfully revitalised run down city centres.

“Closer to home, right here in NSW, the ‘Renew Newcastle’ project transformed a derelict city centre with abandoned commercial spaces into a thriving artistic hub,” Gibbons said.

Meanwhile, council’s attempts to build either a supermarket or “boutique market style” food outlet at its properties between 56-76 Oxford Street have not completely been shelved despite Moore recommending in late June that the plan be scrapped.

A memorandum presented last week by the City’s CEO, Monica Barone, shows that despite Moore’s recommendation, council was instructed to only “note the information provided relating to the viability of a supermarket at 56-78 [sic] Oxford Street”.

A number of council studies into the proposal, first announced in August 2007, have shown that it is clearly not viable.

During a meeting on June 27, Moore had recommended council “not proceed with the supermarket development”.