Big plans for Lords Place

The plan is to increase the number of trees in this block of Lords Place from 16 to 28. However, ten of the current trees which are currently stunted because of the way they were planted, will be removed.

The three trident maples near the Commonwealth Bank and three ornamental pears (near Crema, the Canobolas Hotel and StarChem) wil be kept.

The replanting will let trees be planted on an alignment similar to angled parking. This will lessen the loss of parking spaces.

All new trees will be planted in self-contained underground structures or cells, which are designed to stop the trees’ roots spreading out to damage nearby roads and footpaths.

These underground cells are connected to nearby stormwater channels, letting the trees thrive and become well-established. The underground cells are filled with high quality soil along with a weight-bearing plastic or rock-based supporting frame-work.

Another advantage of tree cells in a busy urban area like this block of Lords Place is that they’re designed to be trafficable, so that a car can park safely alongside the tree without damaging the tree’s roots.

The aim of the new design for Lords Place is to make new places for people to meet, creating attractive locations where people can spend time with each other.

Spaced along the block, near current eateries, eight raised platforms will be installed, alongside the footpaths creating spaces for café tables and chairs. Depending on their locations, the platforms are of different sizes.

As well as the dining areas, there are nine ‘open-space’ areas along the block. Another opportunity for meeting up, these areas will feature outdoor furniture under new trees and other shade structures.

The changes will deliver space for around 50 dining tables and around 120 seats and benches.

Currently, Lords Place South is all about cars. It’s a busy street to drive through, a place to park before visiting a nearby shop, and driving away again.

The aim behind this design is to switch the focus of Lords Place to become a place where people feel comfortable to walk around and spend time in.

The main changes:

• Narrowing the space available for driving to two 2.25 metre lanes and lowering the speed limit to 40 kms/hour
• Encouraging people to park away from the block by reducing the amount of on-street parking from 67 spaces to 44 spaces.

Council is looking at options to deal with this loss of parking. These include:

• Shortening parking limits to encourage more turnover
• Changing parking time limits in the Ophir car park to create more parking turnover in the surrounding area
• Creating drop-off and pick-up zones for businesses
• Introducing time-zoned short-term parking at key take-away food pick-up times

Council has identified the Ophir Car Park as the site for a possible multi-storey car park. Continue will continue to evaluate this project, but it is not within the scope of this project.

Mayor Jason Hamling said he’s pleased this latest stage of the FutureCity CBD upgrade has come after years of design work and community consultation.

“This plan for the future of Lords Place builds on the research and ideas that have been assembled since 2018 when urban designers SJB told us we should make the changes to attract more people to spend more time in our CBD,” Cr Jason Hamling said. “In 2020 the Council adopted the FutureCity plan to make the heart of the city more pedestrian friendly, to reduce the reliance on private cars as the main way of getting around our CBD.”

At that stage there was strong support (94%) for the FutureCity idea of attracting people to spend more time in the CBD.

“After making key progress in McNamara Street, Byng Street and the block of Lords Place north of Summer Street, the next cab off the rank is Lords Place South."

Council talked to businesses and the community in 2021 and received feedback that has shaped the priorities of this latest design.

You can check out the ideas and priorities that were floated on YourSay in 2021 here.

Orange City Council has unveiled the next stage of its Future City upgrade of Orange’s CBD, a bold plan to transform the section of Lords Place, between Summer and Kite Streets, into a place for meeting.

The project, which is expected to start in October will include:

• New plantings of advanced trees which will almost double the number of trees in the block
• New traffic arrangements designed to transform the area into a pedestrian-friendly precinct
• Outdoor-dining zones in selected areas along the block
• Improved street lighting
• Expanded gardens with street furniture

While the total cost of the project is still being developed along with final designs, it will be jointly-funded by Orange City Council and the NSW Government.

Earlier this year the Lords Place South project was awarded a grant of $500,000 from the NSW Government’s ‘Streets as Shared Spaces’ program that aims to ‘deliver trials that test permanent changes that strengthen the accessibility and economic vitality of a high street and surrounding area’.

Orange Mayor Cr Jason Hamling is calling on the community to learn more about the plans, and have their say.

“The beauty of this government grant is that it’s intentionally designed to trial changes,” Cr Jason Hamling said.

“The government wants communities to test the idea of creating spaces where the focus has switched from cars to people. A place where people park somewhere else and then spend time in attractive, fun spaces. If these ideas work, that will shape the design of future changes to revitalise the heart of our city.”

“There are potentially huge benefits in creating an ‘eat street’ in the heart of our city that will work all year round and boost our night-time economy. If we want to make our CBD an attractive place to meet, this is great start.”

“But there will be changes to the routines we’re used to. We want to hear from the community how they weigh up benefits of creating this new destination, alongside impacts such as the loss of some parking spaces.”

The Mayor said it was a challenging project to get the balance right between the city evolving and supporting existing businesses.

“We want the community to tell us what they think so we can start to explore what it would be like to enjoy outdoor dining areas in a pedestrian-friendly street,” Cr Jason Hamling said.