Contents Introduction Background 4 The role of this Plan Links to West Dapto 5 The Dapto Town Centre 6 The Dapto Town Centre Plan 2017-2027 is About Dapto 7 a Plan for everyone who lives in, works at or visits Dapto. Analysis 8 A traffic dominated town centre 8 The Plan sets a strategic direction to A compromised walking environment 9 deliver the following Vision: Busy town centre where activity is indoors 10 An underutilised Town Square 11 - Our unique and welcoming place - A pedestrian-friendly centre The Vision for Dapto 12 - An attractive, vibrant centre Strategies 14 Our unique and welcoming place 16 Future projects for the Dapto Town An accessible pedestrian-friendly centre 18 Centre, whether driven by Council, An attractive, vibrant centre 20 the State Government, businesses, or community groups should consider the Where to from here? 22 strategies within this Plan, as they have been informed by community and other stakeholder feedback and are alogned with the community’s Vision for the future of Dapto Town Centre. A focus on public space The Dapto Town Centre Plan emphasises the need to make public spaces welcoming and attractive. Fundamental to the success of a place is attracting people to visit, interact and spend time in public areas. Lively Safe Successful town centres put people and public life at the forefront of planning. Interesting streets are lined with a mix of shops and interesting displays. They provide places to enjoy a coffee or some food. Popular places are designed to allow for children to play and with Public life areas to simply sit, relax and soak in the Sustainable atmosphere. Healthy By analysing how the Dapto Town Centre functions from the perspective of the people who use it, this document plans for a refreshed and inclusive town centre that displays all of the above attributes. Attractive Background Reviewing Dapto Town Centre Alignment with Illawarra Developing the Dapto Town Revitalisation Strategy 2006 Shoalhaven Regional Plan Centre Plan 2016 In 2006, Council prepared the Dapto Town Dapto is classified as a ‘Major Urban To inform this project, a lot of data was Centre Revitalisation Study with planning Centre’ in the Illawarra Shoalhaven about how people walk around and use consultants Rohan Dickson + Associates. Regional Plan (Department of Planning the town centre. The quality of public The primary role of the Study was to and Environment 2015). streets and places has also been assessed. review town centre planning controls. This data is presented in the ‘Analysis This study was not finalised after the The Dapto Town Centre is named as a section’ and will be used to measure public exhibition period. regionally-significant centre offering a change into the future. wide variety of high-order services and is This report builds on the 2006 study and a focal point for future jobs and housing The Draft Dapto Town Centre Plan was consultation themes, as well as the work growth. placed on public exhibition between 6 undertaken by the local Neighbourhood March and 3 April 2017. A wide variety of Forum, and what we heard from community engagement activities were community engagement activities. carried out and over 1400 comments were received (including 790 survey responses). What we heard from the community The comments received during the In late 2016, the Dapto Futures community engagement were mostly community group ran a survey of Dapto supportive of the Draft Dapto Town residents and visitors and collected an Centre Plan. amazing 790 responses. The most common themes identifed The survey asked questions about why in the feedback were the desire to see people visit Dapto, how they get there more shops and services in Dapto, and focused on what people would like to making Dapto Square feel safer and more see in Dapto Square. The most common attractive, reducing traffic congestion and themes are shown in the graph below. celebrating Dapto’s heritage and history. Dapto Square, facing west. For more information see the Dapto Town Centre Plan Engagement Report. What is one thing you would change about Dapto Square? Top priority for the Square... Safety Appearance Retail offer Events/Culture Nature Other 284 “ I’d like it [Dapto Square] to be cleaner. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like a safe place to walk 199 198 through ” 147 114 81 “ The best people I’ve met in my life have been in Dapto. Let’s encourage them to stop in the square instead of walking on by. ” 2 Links to West Dapto SYDNEY 90km WOLLONGONG 15km ESCARPMENT Northcliffe Drive West Dapto Road Darkes Road Railway M1 Princes Motorway Princes Hwy Bong Bong Road Cleveland Road LAKE ILLAWARRA Town Centre Urban Release SHELLHARBOUR Area 17km Dapto as an urban centre has a large capacity for growth. Dapto will need to provide a point of difference to emerging West Dapto centres. Links with West Dapto Urban Release Area The West Dapto Urban Release Area is West Dapto will have its own new town one of the largest new greenfield housing and village centres, which will provide 19,000+ areas outside the Sydney Metro area and convenience for local residents. Dapto is expected to house over 55,000 people Town Centre will therefore need to offer over the next 50 years. more than just convenience to attract shoppers and visitors. Dapto is ideally positioned to meet New homes proposed in West the regional centre needs of this new Dapto Town Centre needs to grow with Dapto Urban Release Area population. However, providing efficient the population by providing adequate east-west connections between Dapto capacity for more retail and service and West Dapto is very important. growth and additional opportunities for + leisure, community and cultural pursuits. It is important to attract West Dapto Refreshing Dapto’s streetscape could also 55,000+ residents to Dapto for shopping, essential assist with attracting more businesses and services and recreation. visitors to the Town Centre. Additional people living in West Dapto Urban Release Area 3 The Dapto Town Centre Indigenous people have lived in Dapto and cared for Country for thousands of years. The Illawarra Escarpment, Mullet Creek and Lake Illawarra are especially important cultural and resource sites. In the 1800s, the original Dapto Town Centre was located in Brownsville, and serviced a farming population dispersed over a wide area. With the coming of the WEST DAPTO railway line in 1887, the area’s businesses Werowi Street relocated to be near the railway station, taking with them the name ‘Dapto’. Jerematta Street The former town centre was renamed Train Station Brownsville. Bong Bong Road Baan Baan Street 500m 1km The larger Dapto Town Centre enabled Princes Hwy Dapto new social connections from the coming Mall together of a number of rural villages Byamee Street Moombara St including Avondale, Yallah, Marshall Mount and Kembla Grange. Reed Park Marshall Street Dapto Showground During the 1970s, there was a significant M1 Princes Motorway shift in retail offer with the opening of Dapto Mall. Dapto now provides a mix of large (big box) and small-scale retail along the Princes Highway and Bong Bong Road, as well as popular Sunday bric-a-brac markets at the Showground. The largest job sectors in the suburb of Dapto Town Centre Dapto are health care & social assistance, Lakelands Dapto Square followed by retail, and manufacturing. Park Open green space Heritage Items The people Dapto has a population of 22, 933 83% of people in Dapto live in a detached 3.2% of the suburb population are people in 2011* dwelling (separate house) mostly with Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, three bedrooms. 16% of people live in representing the third largest Indigenous Dapto has a higher proportion of children medium-density housing and very few population in Wollongong. and young people, compared many people (0.4%) live in high-density housing suburbs in Wollongong LGA. Dapto is (defined as blocks three storeys or higher). Dapto has a smaller percentage of people also home to a relatively large proportion born overseas (17.8%) and people with a of people aged 65 and older. Age is West Dapto is forecast to primarily provide non-English speaking background (7.7%) important when considering housing and detached homes with some medium-high than Wollongong LGA. service needs. density in and around some centres. *(2011 Profile Id Areas Dapto-Penrose- Brownsville, Koonawarra, Kanahooka). Under 18 18 - 24 25 - 34 35 - 49 50 - 59 65 and older 23.9% 8.3% 12.4% 19.4% 12.4% 23.6% 4 About Dapto Dapto has evolved over time from a natural Buildings and places contribute to our ’Dapto’ is an area to a series of farming villages and understanding of Dapto, and public places indigenous is now a large urban centre. Population should tell stories about its history and word meaning growth will continue this evolution. ongoing evolution. ’water plenty’ . Dapto has a rich Aboriginal, cultural and built history requiring preservation and celebration Interesting buildings and places are scattered throughout the Town Centre. These buildings are generally ‘hidden’ behind alterations or disrepair. Dapto’s public spaces too, could interpret stories unknown to many, and other successful town centres have been able to share their unique features in the streets and plazas through art, street furniture, events, and in other creative and informative ways. Indigenous artwork on the Ribbonwood wall. Artists N.Thomas, L.Brown, Trainees S.Brown, L.Bloomfield. A town centre with strong visual connections to the escarpment setting. The escarpment provides a dramatic backdrop to Dapto Town Centre, reinforcing its natural setting. It is important to the identity and overall quality of the town. Views are generally protected by the existing road corridors, however providing places to enjoy these views is also important.