Part Two – post 1920s - Newcastle City Council

Management of the civic site and the Honeysuckle land has progressed in parallel
during the 1990s with complementary outcomes. In 1995, an Urban Design Plan for
Newcastle Civic Area was produced by Allen Jack + Cottier and others. The plan
identifies twelve special precincts in the Honeysuckle-Civic area and suggests designs
for access, heritage, landscaping, paving, street furniture, lighting, public art,
activities and so on. The outcome was to create a framework that would allow a
unified approach to environmental enhancement.
As noted, the Honeysuckle precinct extends the civic focus to the harbour.
Harbourside land has proved more appropriate for the desired hotel development and
also for another large office block. The enlarged Wheeler Place has provided
important view corridors between the harbour and the landmark buildings surrounding
Civic Park. Landscape designs, such as those of Allen Jack + Cottier, have guided the
integration of the two areas. An example of the work done to date to achieve
integration includes using uniform paving materials in new streetscapes.
The many design concepts for the Civic Site and links with Honeysuckle can be seen
in the several reports prepared by the abovementioned consultants.
Newcastle Civic and Cultural Precinct History ~ Cynthia Hunter ~ January 2003 page 66