Council forges ahead with vibrancy vision

Council is pressing ahead with the delivery of two key town centre vibrancy projects at Tamborine Mountain and Boonah.

Mayor Greg Christensen today announced Council would fund the construction of both the Village Greens stages of the Main Street revitalisation on Tamborine Mountain and new Boonah town square precinct.

"We will continue to pursue opportunities for co-funding assistance from higher levels of government to support the implementation of our Vibrant and Active Towns and Villages initiative," he said

"In the meantime, however, we are not going to sit on our hands and will be forging ahead to deliver on the outcomes of these two projects during the 2017-18 year.

"Council has reviewed its position and has sufficient funds in the Vibrant and Active Towns and Villages capital budget to progress these town centre projects under our own steam.

"While it was disappointing that we were unsuccessful in the current round of the Building Our Regions program, a lack of government assistance will not prevent us from delivering the work that needs to be done in our local communities over the longer term.

"As I have said from outset, grant funding merely provides an opportunity for us to bring forward or accelerate the timing of some of our planned projects. I'm excited that we are continuing to progress the next important stages in the transformative journey for our Scenic Rim communities."

Cr Christensen said the delivery of the Village Greens on Tamborine Mountain had been identified as the priority project as these works needed to be completed in time for the Queen's Baton Relay and Commonwealth Games in April 2017.

"At the same time, we will also progress the detailed design of the Boonah town square precinct with the objective of commencing construction works in the second half of 2017-18 and continuing into early 2018-19," he said.

"Similar to Tamborine Mountain we will be engaging with the Boonah community on the final design which will be drawn from the master plan concepts. The scope of this project will incorporate High Street, Park Street and the Council forecourt space."

Cr Christensen said there remained plenty of avenues for Council to pursue for grant funding over the life of the Vibrant and Active Towns and Villages initiative.

"Thus far in 2017, we have delivered vibrancy projects in three communities with
co-funding from other State and Federal programs. Boonah's Railway St and Rhoda Rushbrook Park on Tamborine Mountain are complete, while improvements to the Tamborine Memorial Hall precinct will soon be finished," he said.

"The positive feedback we have received from the community, particularly in relation to the vibrancy work which has been undertaken in Railway Street and on Gallery Walk, has been gratifying and has only strengthened my resolve to deliver our program of revitalisation.

"The three town centre master plans for Boonah, Beaudesert and Tamborine Mountain will have a lifecycle of up to 10 years, not to mention the future master planning processes for other communities within this timeframe, so there will be many opportunities for higher levels of government to contribute further to our vibrancy vision.

"These town centre master plans were recently lauded as Queensland's best example of landscape planning by the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects which is a significant accolade for our region."

Cr Christensen said later this year Council would be considering the timetable for further master planning in additional Scenic Rim communities.