SIXTEEN new businesses have opened in Ipswich Central since November, an achievement Mayor Teresa Harding hailed as proof the funding invested in the City Heart was proving worthwhile.
The new businesses were noted in the Ipswich City Council’s Ipswich Central Revitalisation six monthly report handed down last week.
Cr Harding added that 23 new businesses had opened in Ipswich Central in the 12 months to June.
Ipswich Central is planned for further transformation following $3.8 million awarded to the Council under the Federal Government’s Urban Precincts and Partnerships Program to advance the Ipswich Central Heart.
This investment will support concept and detailed designs for the Ipswich Art Gallery expansion, Ipswich Civic Centre redevelopment, a refresh of the Brisbane Street streetscape and the Inner CBD cycle network with a focus on urban greening across the entire project.
The report also heralded the success of the Council’s Welcome to Ipswich Central: Business Incentive program, the second round of Frame the Front Door, with 11 businesses enhancing their storefronts with greenery, and the Linger a Bit Longer pilot program.
A small sample of residents responding to the Council’s community engagement late last year through the Shape Your Ipswich website showed 43 per cent of respondents wanted to see more retail, 41 per cent wanted more hospitality and 16 per cent wanted arts and creative business in Ipswich Central.
Respondents identified the need for more community-based events in Ipswich Central and increased marketing of those events to ensure the community is informed of the events.
The survey also indicated a need for support for local businesses through subsidised rentals and a complementary mix of tenancies in key precincts like Nicholas Street.
