Cronulla Town Centre Stage 2 – Plaza Upgrade

Council has been working towards an upgrade of Cronulla Plaza for some time. Work completed in 2018 within Ocean Grove was an early stage and is the best indication of what a ‘refreshed’ Cronulla Plaza will look like. We are excited the upgrade work will start in Winter 2023. It will provide a refreshed space that is comfortable, safe and inviting for people to shop, stroll, gather and meet. The work includes new paving, seating, improved lighting, new trees and two new play spaces that cater to different age groups.

The upgrade of the Cronulla Town Centre will happen in stages, some have already been completed:

Stage 1 – Ocean Grove Upgrade – Completed 2018

Stage 2A – Kingsway Upgrade – Completed 2022

Stage 2B – Cronulla Plaza – August 2024

Stage 2C – Cronulla Town Square – March 2025

At Council we only remove trees when needed, as keeping a ‘green’ Sutherland Shire is important to us and our community.

We have had an arborist assess all trees in the plaza. Existing trees were found to be stunted due to the outdated root management measures in place.

We are replacing all trees and there will end up being more trees in the Plaza than there is now. The replacement tree species comprise of a range of native, evergreen and deciduous species suitable to the plaza and town square environment. All new trees and palms will be planted to fit in with new circulation (pedestrian and vehicular) requirements and to provide long term shade and amenity to the plaza. They will be planted with current best practice root management systems and have both short-term irrigation for establishment and long-term passive irrigation from surrounding drainage to ensure they reach their full long-term potential.

Play areas have been a feature of Cronulla Plaza since the last redevelopment in the 1980s. As part of the community consultation completed in 2020, it was identified that there was an overwhelming desire from the community for traditional play within the Plaza.

Events usually held within the Cronulla Town Centre will be relocated to other locations within the Sutherland Shire during construction.

More information on upcoming events can be found by visiting the council website

https://www.sutherlandshire.nsw.gov.au/play-and-explore/council-events

Absolutely! Safe pedestrian access within the plaza will be maintained at all times during the work. Council encourages the public to continue to support local businesses and enjoy Cronulla Plaza as you usually would.

The existing public toilets located within the Cronulla Town Square will be available to the general public throughout the plaza upgrade.

There are a number of heritage listed buildings located within the Cronulla Town Centre. In order to appreciate the significance of these buildings to Cronulla’s history, heritage forecourts will be introduced in front of each of the heritage listed buildings. The intent for these spaces is to provide open areas free of large structures for community gatherings and occasional larger events. These areas include the Banc (Former Commonwealth Bank), Post Office, Cronulla Theatre, and the Cronulla Commercial Building (8-12 Cronulla Street).

Council initiated a community consultation and engagement program beginning with the Cronulla Town Centre Public Domain Masterplan in 2016. This involved consultation with the general community, establishment of a Stakeholder Reference Group (SRG), direct engagement with local businesses and the Cronulla Chamber of Commerce. The SRG consisted of the Mayor, ward councillors and members of the public and business community. The aim of the SRG was to work towards ensuring the new design for the Cronulla Town Centre is responsive to local needs, delivers value for money and makes a positive difference for our local community.  Council further consulted with the local community about Stage 2 of the Cronulla Town Centre Upgrade in 2020.

The Cronulla Town Centre layout was developed through community consultation and is designed with the intent to create engagement hubs including:

• Heritage forecourts – Open community gathering areas in front of heritage buildings throughout the plaza and town square.
• Playground/ Special Precincts – Play/ active community hubs housing traditional play and public seating. Traditional Play is a key feature and informed through community engagement.
• Public Spaces – Dedicated spaces for informal and formal outdoor dining, temporary and permanent stalls, event marketplaces and more.
• Pedestrian Accessibility Zone – thoroughfare zones exclusive to pedestrian movement and shopfront visibility free from obstructions.

The upgraded Town Centre layout incorporates dedicated trading zones predominantly reserved for long- and short-term retail trading opportunities, including alfresco dining, retail trading and event stalls. The location of these zones will allow for clear throughfare through the Town Centre and will maintain shop-front visibility.

During design development of the Stage 2 Cronulla Town Centre Upgrade, Council engaged an independent consultant to review accessibility, supervisory space, and pedestrian circulation around the two new play spaces that form part of the Cronulla Plaza upgrade. The play spaces are located a distance from roadways which meets the requirements for safety set out in the adopted service standards of Council’s Play Strategy. A perimeter fence is not planned at this time to allow the unobstructed movement of people through play spaces to adjoining businesses and social/outdoor public dining zones.

There will be additional furniture, including seats, tables, bike parking, bins and new pedestrian lighting installed throughout the plaza. This will also be complemented with tree planting and garden bed areas to create comfortable seating area. The two new playgrounds have custom shade structures in each space to offer additional sun protection. A new amenities building will also be provided with completion of the town square upgrade.

Parking provisions in Purley Place and Kingsway will remain the same. There will be an improved bus waiting area on the Kingsway with the town square work.

The play spaces will have two custom shade structures in each space. The structure is currently undergoing manufacturing and safety checks before installation on site.  A temporary shade structure has been provided at the whale head playground until the manufacturing process is complete.

There will be changes in the space usage allocation within the plaza and town square area to improve Disability Discrimination Act compliance and accessibility. The changes have been designed with consideration of activation of the space, and to support the current program of events hosted in the town centre, this includes major improvements in power & electrical supplies including smart lighting technology.