Push to turn Paddington’s high streets into ‘The Rocks of Brisbane’

A “grassroots” community group says it hopes to turn a struggling shopping strip into Brisbane’s equivalent of The Rocks in Sydney, aiming to capitalise on an influx of tourists over the next two years.

ONE of Brisbane’s oldest shopping strips will undergo a two-year makeover inspired by Sydney’s The Rocks, in a last-ditch effort to rescue it from abandoned shops and online retailers.

The Courier-Mail reported earlier this year that Paddington’s shops on Latrobe and Given terraces were among Brisbane’s high streets struggling with high rents and vacancy rates of up to 30 per cent.

Local political leaders have been brainstorming ideas, with a community meeting last week by a Greens local government candidate reportedly attracting a crowd of 30.

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Now a local community group is “kicking off” a two-year project, with $250,000 of federal funds, to double-down on the area’s history, saying a boom in tourism from projects like Queen’s Wharf had the potential to bolster their fortunes.

Empty heritage buildings on Given Tce.

It will start this Friday with Christmas lighting along 27 trees along the strip, but Paddington 4064 Business Group chair Karen Harley said it was only the start.

“We’ve got a lot of charm and character, being an old suburb,” Ms Harley said. “We’re just trying to get that back.”

“(The new decoration) shows that money is being put into the area, that the terraces are together. We’re not just a desolate shopping district.”

The historic Lord Nelson Hotel at The Rocks.

She said the inspiration for her group’s two-year vision was The Rocks in Sydney.

“There is nothing like that in Brisbane,” Ms Harley said. “When you go to Sydney, you know to go to the Rocks.”

“You wouldn’t know where to go to see that in Brisbane.”

In the next six months, Ms Harley said street art would be added along Latrobe Tce and Given Tce, followed by signs saying ‘Welcome to Paddington’.

“We’re a bit disjointed. You have Latrobe Tce and Given Tce,” she said.

“We’ve got to get Paddington ready first.”

“For Lease” signs on restaurant facades on Given Terrace in Paddington, Brisbane. Picture: AAP/Claudia Baxter

It comes as a number of Brisbane’s major shopping strips, like Oxford St in Balmoral and Racecourse Rd in Ascot, have come under pressure from major shopping centres and online shopping.

Vacancy rates have risen to above 30 per cent along these streets.

Even precincts like South Bank, once the crown jewel of Brisbane’s dining experience, have come under pressure to renew.

“For Lease” signs are dotted across Paddington’s high streets. Picture: AAP/Claudia Baxter

Brisbane Federal MP Trevor Evans said the precinct had the prospect of being one of the city’s more unique shopping strips.

“The Paddington Terraces shopping precinct is already much-loved by locals,” Mr Evans said. “The current transformation project has the potential to boost its profile with local visitors and tourists alike, making Paddington a must-visit destination.”

The Christmas Markets at The Rocks in Sydney.

The Greens local candidate for Paddington ward Donna Burns said Given Tce had been hit harder than other shopping strips in Brisbane, and locals were demanding more than $250,000.

“There’s an obvious increase in the rental spaces, pedestrian safety came up as a real issue, and parking and walkability,” Ms Burns said.

“The available retail space in Paddington surpasses some other data he collected from other areas,” she said, referring to retail expert Gary Mortimer’s analysis of the precinct.