A consultant for the developers of Thirroul Plaza, Louis Goulimis attended the last TVC meeting on 22 September to present the results of the Big Ideas Community Survey. Around 35 people attended.

Louis reported that the website was viewed over 3000 times, and that 829 people participated in the survey. A further 97 emails were also received through the feedback form. The breakdown of respondents was – 58.5% female; 38.3% male; 0.4% other and 2.8% preferred not to say. Respondents to the survey included residents of Thirroul and the region. Respondents answered 17 questions, which included frequency and reasons for visiting the town centre; design aspirations for the site; what people would like to see developed on the site; design considerations; and big ideas for the site.

The main reason for visiting Thirroul town centre was to access the shops and business services (40.4%). Most respondents lived in Thirroul (64.7%). Almost 60% of respondents visited the town centre several times a week. People visited during business hours (67.6%), weekends (61.4%), and in the evening (56.2%).

Key findings included that Thirroul town centre is a loved and important regional centre; the plaza is in need of an upgrade; Thirroul is seen as a relaxing coastal town; the plaza could become the heart of Thirroul centre; a community-oriented space is a much desired benefit of the project; the primary design consideration is the maintenance of the Illawarra escarpment view; there is limited community support for residential development of the site, although it is a permissible use.

In addition, there were a couple of big ideas suggested by respondents for redevelopment of the site including having alternative vehicular access arrangements via Raymond Road and a land swap with council to incorporate WF Jackson Park into the site in return for a dedicated community plaza in the middle of the development site. Some discussions have taken place with WCC about these ideas, but no decision has been made.

All of this information has been collated and will form part of a brief to be presented to a town planner, urban designer and landscape architect and will contribute to the design of a new plaza. In the meantime, the owners want to spruce up the current plaza and fix up potholes in the carpark.

This is just the start of a long process. A workshop may be held in the first quarter of 2025.

For updates from Solid Void, visit www.urbantalk.com.au/projects/Thirroul-Plaza