A consultant’s brief for the long awaited Kiama Town Centre Study has been finalised, with the winning firm expected to start work on the project by early July.

“This work will provide a context for how the whole centre will evolve,” says Linda Davis, Council’s Director Environmental Services.

“The aim is to develop a really good blueprint and provide a lot of certainty to the development sector about what our expectations are.”

She says the urban designers will be able to base their work on a number of reports and studies that have already been done.

“We’ve been through and looked at what we already have, and a lot of that work is still valid and contemporary. There is no need to revisit everything, which will speed the process up.”

The Study, which will take in the whole of the Kiama town centre, will look at economic and urban design components.

“The Study is looking for urban design input at a high strategic level.

“We will be asking the consultants what sort of community consultation  they would suggest is appropriate during the process, apart from the input of community members on the Planning Committee.”

Any necessary changes will be incorporated into Kiama’s Local Environment Plan and Development Control Plan, changes to which require community consultation.

The Study is due for completing by the end of the year