Whilst private vehicles remain the dominant transport method, Council needs to investigate the opportunity to accommodate and plan for future transport trends such as electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, scooters, bicycles and pedestrians.
Factors affecting investment include perceptions of Lismore as a place with with slow capital growth. Collaborative efforts are required to change this perception to foster the establishment of a competitive business environment to support an atmosphere of business innovation.
The Lismore CBD has significant potential, however its physical breadth and depth far exceeds current business offerings. Investment into CBD precinct definitions will enable the exploration and introduction of mixed-use business and residential housing precincts to ready the CBD for the next 20 years.
Within the Lismore CBD, few venues and businesses are open beyond the business hours of 9 to 5 weekdays. Work to improve the level of vibrancy and concentration of activity to contribute positively toward place activation and improve the environment for business to increase offerings to customers into the evening is a priority.
Whilst much work has been undertaken at a Local Government level to streamline the planning process, much more work can be done to support the fast track of new development in our business centres. Lismore City Council aims to exceed NSW Government (DoPI) best practice DA benchmarks.
With strong amenity migration to the Northern Rivers, our villages are susceptible to a significant population increase in the coming decades. Sufficient investigation must be undertaken to ensure the sustainable growth or retention of our villages to ensure we do not diminish their value and highly sought-after attributes.
