Community involvement in the design of a new residential precinct is ramping up with dates set for face-to-face workshops.
Two workshops will be held on Tuesday 13 February, aimed at building a shared community vision for the new neighbourhood in Redmond Place. They will be held at the Glenroi Community Centre (Garema Rd) from noon to 2pm and in the Council Chamber in the Civic Centre (Byng Street) from 6pm to 8pm. Both events will have food and refreshments provided.
In addition, a pop-up stall will be open at the Orange City Centre on Saturday 10 February from 10am to 1pm. The community is invited to drop by and learn more about the project while sharing their ideas in a quick, casual format.
HOUSING MIX: An example of a possible housing type for Redmond Place. Photo: Hamilton Lund
The Redmond Place project is a partnership between Orange City Council and Landcom. It is located on the eastern edge of the city and is expected to contain more than 300 residences.
It will deliver a mix of housing types, ranging from single dwellings on standard sized blocks to duplexes, town houses and residential flats.
Orange Mayor Jason Hamling said the workshops follow online engagement that has revealed an appetite for different housing types in the city than has traditionally been delivered.
"What we have found so far is that the community is looking for different options and the workshops will give us a chance to test that further," he said.
Almost a third of Orange residents who completed the online survey would prefer a housing option outside the traditional freestanding home.
While a freestanding detached house on its own block was the most popular option (71%), 29% of respondents said they were more interested in buying alternative options such as apartments, townhouses, terraces or villas.
Orange City Council Planning and Development Committee Chair Cr Jeff Whitton said the online survey run through the Orange Your Say site was the first stage of community consultation to help shape the new precinct.
"As well as meeting engineering and environmental criteria, Landcom and Council want to listen to the local community to learn what's important to them," Cr Whitton said.
"Community feedback is already assisting the project team in making decisions around the mix of housing types and sizes to feature in the new development."
Landcom CEO Alexander Wendler said the ambitions of future residents and members of the Orange community will be integral to the future development.
"Landcom is committed to setting a new standard of design for the region which reflects the changing needs of the community," Mr Wendler said.
"Through these workshops, the community can share their vision which will help Landcom as we design the new community."
The survey also explored the reasons why Orange residents are looking to buy a new home.
Of the people who completed the survey:
- 28% are currently renting and would buy at the right price
- 14% currently own but want to upsize (The most popular motivator to move a growing family and needing more space.)
- 13% own their home but want to downsize (The reasons: their current home is too big for the size of their household and to reduce running costs.)
- 40% aren't looking to move
The upcoming workshops will be interactive, informative and imaginative - with expert facilitators and architects from local consultancy Sala4D running a range of activities and conversation starters.
Participants will be asked to imagine what life in Orange will look like in the future, how people will live, work and play, interact with their environment, and how this will translate to what their homes and neighbourhood can look like.
The output of the workshop will be an aspirational project vision that informs design development and review over the life of the development.
To attend the free workshop, register at here at Eventbrite. Light catering and refreshments will be provided on the day.
Landcom is a NSW Government land and property development organisation. It is a state-owned Corporation working with government and the private and not-for-profit sectors to deliver exemplary housing projects that provide social and economic benefits to the people of NSW.
