Kilbirnie Town Centre Design Workshops

A plan to breathe new life into Kilbirnie is on the drawing boards - and locals aren’t short of ideas about how to make their town a better place to live.

Pedestrians crossing street in Kilbirnie.

More green spaces, a greater variety of shops, better traffic and public transport systems and improvements to the look and feel of the area are among ideas that have been suggested to help revitalise Kilbirnie town centre.

The Council is looking at how the town centre and its surrounds can be made a more attractive, vibrant, people-friendly and prosperous part of Wellington City.

More than 240 people commented on the Council's town centre questionnaire or attended drop-in sessions in June to discuss what they like and don't like about the centre and what opportunities they think there are to transform it.

People like the centre's village atmosphere and its community facilities, including the Wellington Regional Aquatic Centre, library and recreation and community centres. But they say something needs to be done to improve parking and transport and the look and feel of the centre to make it a pleasant place to shop and spend time rather than a place where people go just to buy their groceries.

The Council's Kilbirnie town centre project manager, Paul Kos, is rapt with the community's response to stage one of the project. "It's fantastic. People are really passionate about Kilbirnie and their comments reflect how they feel and what they want for the area. The next step is to work with them to develop a vision and plan for the area."

Workshops will be held in August to identify the key issues and possibilities and how these can be turned into a realistic vision and town centre plan. A small leadership group, made up of Kilbirnie retailers, landowners, residents and young people will provide input to the Council at the workshops.

There will also be opportunities for the public to contribute - either through briefing sessions at the start of each workshop, or at the evening community forums (see dates and times below).

A preferred draft town centre plan will be prepared and the public will be consulted on this plan in November.
Paul says the challenge is to develop a plan that will ensure the expected population growth in Kilbirnie is planned in an integrated way. "The key is to ensure that we maintain and enhance Kilbirnie's role as an important social community and business hub for the southern and eastern suburbs."

The workshops will be held at the Kilbirnie Park Bowling Club (first floor) on Kilbirnie Crescent. The public are encouraged to attend any or all of the following sessions:

Tuesday 11 August
1.30pm - 3.00pm - Introduction and briefing
7.30pm - 9.00pm - Community forum - 'Possible directions for Kilbirnie town centre'
Monday 24 August
10.00am - 11.00am - Introduction and briefing
Tuesday 25 August
7.30pm - 9.00pm - Community forum - 'Confirming a vision for Kilbirnie town centre'