Raymond Terrace town centre set for $1.5M of ‘vibrant’ works and upgrades

From art-inspired shade structures and new seating, to more greenery and improved safety features a Port Stephens town centre is getting a major overhaul. See the pictures.

Ben Robinson (Panthera Group), Deputy Mayor Paul Le Mottee, Hannah Sheehan (Panthera Group) and Donna Howarth (Circle of Friends) at William Street, Raymond Terrace. Supplied.

Gone will be the days of a negative stigma associated with Raymond Terrace with a multimillion-dollar makeover planned for the town centre over the next two years.

Port Stephens Council plans to beautify the “drab” shopping precinct at William St, into a “vibrant”, green place for local residents and visitors to hang out and spend time.

“The days of it being thought of as worse than other places, they are gone, the local area command is here, it’s a very nice spot to live,” Deputy Mayor Paul Le Mottee said.

“The stigma is mainly thought of by people who don’t live in Raymond Terrace, the town has been dramatically improved.

$1.5 million of works planned for the Raymond Terrace town centre in stage one. Supplied.

“Unlike a lot of country towns, the original main street of Raymond Terrace was King street, but after really big floods in 48/55, all the shop owners had enough and they started moving to William street.

“It was kind of an ad-hoc situation, it hasn’t got that same nice feel as some other country towns but we’re trying to get it that way.”

In the first stage of $1.5 million works, Council is set to deliver three art-inspired shade structures featuring new seating and greenery underneath, lighting and cameras to improve safety, and improved accessible car parking.

It followed extensive public consultation which pinpointed a need for more shady spots, street furniture, public art, greenery and improved lighting and safety.

Local resident Bronwyn White participated in the development of the Raymond Terrace Public Domain Plan and said it’s great to see action in the town centre.

From above, parking spots and greenery. Supplied.

“Raymond Terrace is such a lovely community and it’s wonderful to see it getting the upgrades it deserves. These works will certainly brighten up the town centre and make it a lot greener,” she said.

“I go to Raymond Terrace town centre every day and it will be great to have more spaces to connect with other people.

“I also see a lot of tourists stopping in Raymond Terrace and there’s not really anywhere to sit and eat, so this will be a nice space for people to spend some time as they stop on their travels.”

Cr. Le Mottee said shopping in Raymond Terrace is dominated by the Marketplace and the Terrace Central Shopping Centre, which has seen the main street suffer as a result, but Council is trying to turn that around.

“Make it so it is more exciting, not dragging more people away from the Marketplace, but to get more people in the Terrace full stop,” he said.

Leafy, green, shaded areas to hang out. Supplied.

“If you go to Greenhills you can’t do your shopping and go for a walk along the river, but at the Terrace you can.

“These works all about creating places for people to relax, stay a little longer and support our local businesses.”

Market research showing it’s not necessarily about how many people you can bring to the area, but getting those that are there to stay longer.

“They will spend more. It’s about creating spaces and places that people want to be at,” he added.

“If you have that area in the main street where people are sitting and eating and looking around, they notice the businesses.”

This is just the start of works, with stage 2 also on the radar that will see more of the town centre spruced up with things like landscaping, art, shade, seating and safer pedestrian crossings.

It will also work on extending the footpath along the river levee bank and improvements to nearby Nettles Park.

The only concern raised by the public was about parking, but with a new reconfigured design, while some parking spots have moved, the area actually ended up with one more additional spot in stage one.

Spaces to sit and relax at Raymond Terrace. Supplied.

And in stage two, there is potential to create even more parking spaces along the main street.

Council is working on a grant from the Federal Government to carry out the continued upgrades.

Ben Robinson of Panthera Group said the works will be an improvement to public spaces in Raymond Terrace, which he believes is an area which needs to be highlighted for its potential.

“We are pleased to see growth opportunities in our community, which will promote increased visitation and spending in local businesses,” he said.

“We’re excited to see alignment between our Terrace Central vision and the vision for a revitalised town centre.”

Stage one works are set to start in August and stage two are proposed for mid-2022.