McLaren Vale Main Road upgrade plan approved

A plan – four years in the making – to revamp McLaren Vale’s main street in an attempt to attract business and tourism has received the tick of approval.

Concept images of a planned upgrade to the McLaren Vale Main Street. Picture: City Collective

A local business and tourism association says a plan to revamp McLaren Vale’s main street will transform the street into a tourism hotspot in the region.

At its March meeting, Onkaparinga Council approved a five-year plan to upgrade the street’s infrastructure with public art, lighting, greening and improved night life.

McLaren Vale Business and Tourism Association chairman Sandy Mount said the decision was a climax after almost four years of work on the plan.

“It means a lot to the community,” Mr Mount said.

“People come here for the wine but then they don’t stop in the main street, they just drive through, so we’re trying to make people stop and support the local businesses.

Main Road, McLaren Vale, pictured in 2015, is in line for a significant revamp. Picture Campbell Brodie.

“Our long term vision is to have an increase in tourism traffic and to do that we’ll need to double or triple the number of businesses along the main street to give people a reason to stop and actually walk up and down the street.”

The initial stage of the project will focus on the area near the McLaren Vale Hotel, Robern Menz and the Almond Train/Carriage Café.

It will include beautifying the streetscape with overhead lighting, arbours, garden beds and public art.

Irrigation, existing lighting and the “gateway” to the area will also be upgraded as part of the project.

Mr Mount said the association hoped attracting more business and tourism to the region would boost the local economy.

“It’s sort of a cart before the horse, once we attract the businesses we’ll attract the people and then we’ll attract the spending in our community and in turn we’ll attract more people to live here,” he said.

“The businesses are the crux of any community like ours and if you’ve got successful businesses you’ve got people wanting to live here and come and shop here and spend their time here.

“We’re trying to support all the community in an effort to make us a vibrant place to live and bring up families.”

In approving the plan, the council approved $320,000 in funding for the 2021/22 works on the project with the following years to be funded in each annual budget.

Onkaparinga Mayor Erin Thompson said the plan would support local businesses who rely heavily on tourism and had been impacted by COVID.

“The (plan) will encourage visitors to stop, stay longer and spend more, bringing new money into our local economy,” she said.

“Together we can increase the vibrancy and appeal of Main Street to improve the lifestyle and amenities for the community and allow visitors to enjoy more of what’s on offer in our vibrant and diverse region.”