After more than 40 years, the Tom Price town centre in the Pilbara region of Western Australia is set to undergo a facelift.
The Shire of Ashburton recently announced it is pushing forward with plans to revitalise the town by creating a modern, attractive, vibrant and accessible community hub to improve local amenities and pave the way for future tourism opportunities.
The announcement follows the Shire securing a $10 million grant from the Western Australian Government’s Royalties for Regions Program.
Tom Price is a remote town located 340 kilometres south of Karratha, near Karijini National Park.
Since last December, local stakeholders, Indigenous leaders and community members have been extensively consulted on ways to revitalise the town and modernise the central shopping precinct. A number of recurring themes were noted during these meetings, particularly the lack of quality infrastructure and appropriate community facilities, the unattractive and ‘tired’ town centre, and the poorly executed parking facilities for cars and buses.
In April, project managers and consultants who were involved in the project came together and held a Community Open Day in the Tom Price Mall to display the concept plans for the town centre revitalisation.
Managing Director of Creating Communities Donna Shepherd said some 200 people provided feedback.
“It was a great turnout and the response was very positive, with 99 per cent of people happy with the proposals,” she said.
Proposed plans include making the Tom Price Mall and surrounds more aesthetically pleasing by incorporating a water play area, shaded alfresco areas, informal seating, cooling mist sprays and improving trolley return bays and loading zones.
Vast amounts of black asphalt will be replaced with shaded grassed banks, mature trees and permanent shade structures.
The key feature of the final phase of the project will be a landscaped amphitheatre in the centre of town, which will accommodate 300 to 400 people and provide a staging area for events and performances of various sizes.
A large LCD screen will replace the current drive in and provide screening capabilities for both day and night.
Council’s Town Centre Revitalisation Project Manager Justine Hyams anticipates that the area will host family and community events, such as school graduations and performances, touring performers and screenings of sporting events such as the Melbourne Cup, AFL and ARU Grand Finals and other major sporting events.
“It will be a very lively and active hub for the community to meet both spontaneously, and at planned events,” Justine Hyams said. “We expect it to be a very busy place that puts Tom Price on the map for tourists and performers alike.”
She said that the team will now collate the community information received and refine the concept plan into a development plan, which will be launched in coming months.
For further information contact Justine Hyams on 0419 907 300.
