As I write this, we are in the throws of a State Election and we wait with bated breath for announcements from all sides of politics as to funding pledges for the revitalisation of Kelly Street, but we carry on with our planning.

We are up to Civil design stages now, which will consider storm water - an issue in the south of Kelly St for as long as I can remember. 

This stage will also account for buried services and allow us to place future-proofing services into our aged street. These designs are engineered with the future in mind, services that don’t exist yet, or can’t be thought of due to the lack of specific technologies. It is future-proofing the town centre not only for business, service and retail shops but for the Shire as a whole. By designing a streetscape that has services in mind, we limit the disruption to the sidewalks at the same time as minimising repair costs. For example, the sidewalk would not be paved, it will have a series of decorative concrete slabs laid in and mapped. So, when a service provider comes along and destroys one of them, Council will hand them specifics for the way we, the people, want it returned after they are finished. If the service provider does not want to complete the works themselves, they will be charged for our staff and materials to complete the rectifications. Hence returning our street to us in a way we the street owner are happy with.

Another part of our design work is the Horse Walk of Fame. The plaques themselves will be replicable and the design owned by the Council in order to maintain continuity throughout. The plants will be decided upon by a most expert panel of horticulturists that understand species that work in this environment. 

I am very excited about this project and thank the Scone CBD Revitalisation Committee for their work and patience.