Whitsunday Regional Council releases new Bowen Masterplan
A boardwalk and hiking track, revamped cycle network and Flagstaff Hill rebuild are just some of the big developments included in the exciting plan.
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A road map for Bowen's future development will soon be released to the community for feedback and it features nine major projects to be focused on over the coming decade.
Whitsunday councillors endorsed the draft masterplan at last week's council meeting and it is set to be sent out for community consultation between April and May.
Mayor Andrew Willcox encouraged Bowen residents to look at the document and give their thoughts.
"Please put your comments up, what you like, what you don't like," he said.
"Make sure you put what you do like about it as well so we can have all the balance on things."
The masterplan outlines nine major projects that the council will focus on, with the aim of boosting liveability, health, wellbeing, town beautification and conditions for business success in Bowen.
The plan estimates the total cost of all the projects is $11,875,800, with additional stages of some projects reliant on grant funding.
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Some of the projects are already complete or under way, such as the Greening and Growing Bowen and Beautiful Bowen projects.
Beautiful Bowen was completed in December 2019 and resulted in new signage at the entrances to town as well as way-finding signs and landscaping.
A facade improvement policy is also ongoing, which allows business owners in Bowen's CBD to revamp their shopfronts and have council pick up half the bill.
The highly anticipated Flagstaff Hill redevelopment is included in the plan, which estimates it will be finished by the end of 2022.
"The multipurpose facility design will incorporate a conference centre, cultural centre, outdoor amphitheatre area, cafe and gift shop," the plan states.
"The facility will be able to provide capacity to service tourism markets, can support a sustainable business model and enable arts, food tourism and indigenous activities to be undertaken."
A couple of projects in the planning stages are the Bowen Green Core project and Mullers Lagoon Park Masterplan.
The Bowen Green Core project aims to cool down main CBD streets by planting shade trees and $10,000 is estimated to be spent at Mullers Lagoon for enhancements such as formal parking, an upgraded shared path and signage recognising environmental and indigenous heritage.
Lovers of the outdoors will also be pleased to see a couple of cycle and hiking projects on the masterplan.
The Bowen boardwalk and hiking track is already ongoing with stage 1 costing $10,000, aiming to investigate designs and route options to link Kings Beach to Flagstaff Hill and Horseshoe Bay.
"The proposed Kings Beach Track and adjoining CBD connection to Flagstaff Hill is subject to investigation to determine costing feasibility, suitable route, coastal hazard resilience and environmental impact mitigation," the plan states.
Depending on feasibility, the council will prioritise the project for future grant funding.
For residents who prefer two wheels, cycle route enhancements are included in the plan and would involve printing maps of bike-friendly locations, future work to fill gaps in the cycle network and putting in water bubblers.
The final project is interpretative historical signage, which would give a nod to environmental, historical and cultural aspects of the community and be drawn from the history of the Juru People, settlement, Bowen's unique wildlife and more.
"This Bowen Masterplan seeks to establish a strong vision for Bowen, which enhances its resilience, economic opportunity and liveability into the future," the plan concludes.
"Council will endeavour to deliver the identified actions over the next decade, by incorporating projects into annual budgets, preparing detailed designs, creating grant applications and advocating for investments in Bowen from state and federal governments."
Originally published as Whitsunday Regional Council releases new Bowen Masterplan
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