Katoomba Charrette Outcomes Report - Blue Mountains City Council

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Katoomba Charrette Report & Town Centre Strategy Katoomba’s Town Centre, keynoting all the ‘holes’ discussed below, with key streets and lanes labelled Former TAFE (Former Katoomba High School Site) The large and centrally located old TAFE and its property on the east side of Parke Street is a brilliant site going begging. Its present blight, however, limits the appeal of the Carrington and other adjoining properties, and it discourages pedestrian access in that area between Katoomba Street and Parke Street. The historic high school building, while presently derelict, appeared to be rehabitable during the Charrette, if conditions would allow. See proposals for this site in Section 10.1. The Carrington Hotel, Its Front Lawn and Parke Street Frontage The Carrington’s front lawn is just northeast of the Old TAFE site and affected by its dereliction. The Carrington lawn is presently informally used by the public, but access to it is uncertain once the Carrington Hotel formally has reopened, and the garden has been restored. The Charrette found a strong desire on the part of the community for more publicly accessible green open space. Whether the Carrington’s front lawn might serve that purpose was a key issue in the Charrette (see Section 10.2). So long as it stays private, the lawn is nice to look at, excellent for Carrington patrons, but to some extent still a ‘hole’ in Katoomba’s urban fabric, as far as the public is concerned. The Carrington’s Parke Street frontage, not yet finished or open, has a historic building with extraordinary re-use potential, and some vacant ground presently not in use or open to the 14
Katoomba Charrette Report & Town Centre Strategy public. Because the property is fenced and boarded up at present due to ongoing construction, it also acts as a gap or hole in the urban continuity of Parke Street. That all could change in time (see Section 10.4). The Savoy The Savoy Theatre/Trocadero on Katoomba Street, with its extraordinary complex of entertainment and performance facilities, was once a glory to Katoomba and should be again. But now it is a ‘hole’ in Katoomba Street. The Charrette learned that the Savoy’s redevelopment was recently denied due to its inability to comply with on-site parking requirements for its projected uses. The facility is in tatters but appears to be restorable, if its redevelopment (refurbishment) were permissible and if it could prove viable in terms of financial feasibility (see Section 8.4 Car Parking and Section 10). State Rail Authority (SRA) Goods Yard The State Rail Authority (SRA) Goods Yard, between the station and Main Street, contains some important historic rail-related buildings and an old crane structure, but is mostly a vacant and dusty hole in the urban fabric. Safety there at night is a concern, and the Goods Yard is hardly used in the daytime. This was a key site the Charrette Team was contracted to deal with (see Section 9.1). SRA Depot (North) and Highway Frontage of the Gearin’s Hotel These two sites flank the top of Katoomba Street at the Great Western Highway, marking the ‘front door’ to Katoomba with a less than inspired image at present. The State Rail Authority (SRA) Depot site, on the southeast corner of the Great Western Highway and Katoomba Street, is potentially a brilliant site for a signature development which reflects Katoomba’s assets and character, but it presently functions as a ‘hole’ with a vacant lot near Katoomba Street with a limited use for car parking, and the now under-utilised depot itself further to the east. The SRA has indicated that this property is available for redevelopment, and the Charrette Team was contracted to deal with it (see Section 9.3). While the historic Gearin’s Hotel at the top of Katoomba Street on the corner with the Great Western Highway is a treasure, its frontage to the highway is not. Its north face is a blank brick wall with an empty space about 5 metres wide stretching to its rear, between the elevated highway retaining wall and the building itself. This unfortunate frontage to the highway may came about as a result of the highway construction. This blank wall and empty space function as a ‘hole’ or missing face of this key corner of Katoomba’s Town entry at Katoomba Street (see Section 9 for proposals). Goldsmiths Site The Goldsmith’s Hardware site, just north of the station and west of the Gearin’s Hotel, is set about 7 metres below the grade of the adjoining highway, at the base of a vertical retaining wall. The hardware store is operating, but the owners would like the property to be redeveloped, and the property acts effectively as a ‘hole’ in the urban fabric, at least compared to its potential. This site, especially if built above its retaining wall to address the highway, would be quite valuable due to its exposure to passing trade, and it has been the focus of concerns about a McDonalds or other fast food restaurant moving into the Blue Mountains. See Section 9.2 for 15
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Katoomba Charrette Outcomes Report - Blue Mountains City Council

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