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Urban design in Waverley

The urban design team at Waverley Council considers all aspects of the built and natural environment to ensure that the built form and the public domain reflect the way the community want to live.

The urban design team works with the strategic planning team to develop planning controls. In turn, urban design work with the development assessment team to monitor that the controls are being met and to help guide design quality by providing urban design referrals and expert witness advice.

The urban design team assists Council with their own building and public domain projects by providing designs and/or design advice where necessary. Urban design also collaborate with Council’s assets and engineering teams on streetscape works and with the cultural team on placemaking and events. Urban design manage street interventions and work as part of a team on Council-wide projects.

Focus areas for the urban design team are street design, open and green spaces, community spaces, wayfinding, lighting and safety. Some sample projects are listed below.

The urban design team ensures that Waverley Council is up to date on the latest design trends and data. The team also develop long-term ideas for the LGA that reflect the Community Strategic Plan and inform the future of the neighbourhood, for the benefit of residents and visitors.

Council’s Have Your Say website advertises all projects open for community consultation. Residents can register to be emailed based on topics or locations of interest.

Complete streets

Waverley Council commenced its Complete Streets program for Bondi Junction in 2014, with the aim of making each street a 'complete street' for everybody. The premise is based on putting street/road users into priority order, where pedestrians and cyclists are prioritised, followed by public transport, service vehicles and finally private vehicles. From there, the street is designed to serve that hierarchy, from cycleways, to crossings, speed limits, traffic calming, slip lanes and gardens.

Waverley's People, Movement and Places transport vision was released in 2017, expanding the successful Bondi Junction Complete Streets pilot to the whole LGA, which continues to be a work in progress.

Examples of ‘Complete Streets’ that have been delivered include:

• Spring Street
• Oxford Street West
• Denison Street

Key findings from Complete Streets are continuously implemented as Bondi Junction continues to evolve over time to better suit the community. Principles of good street design such as active frontages, awnings, street trees, accessibility and walkability, seating, lighting and safety are ongoing. Council is completing the projects identified within Complete Streets on a priority basis.

Creative lighting

The Waverley Creative Lighting Strategy 2018-2028 goes beyond streetlights, detailing how spaces will be activated at night through special lighting applications. This helps to define areas, showcase natural structures and support the nighttime economy.

Examples of the creative lighting strategy already in action include:

• Waverley Mall
• Oxford Street Mall
• Boot Factory courtyard

The Boot Factory

Together, the Mill Hill Centre and Boot Factory at Bondi Junction are the most significant public space restoration and refurbishment Council has undertaken since the Bondi Pavilion's conservation and renovation in 2020-2022.

The Boot Factory, a former footwear factory at the rear of Norman Lee Place at 27-33 Spring Street, was built in 1892 by William Sidaway and Son. It was last restored by Council in 1986. It has been vacant since 2007, with temporary conservation works completed in 2013, and full restoration works started in 2021.

The Boot Factory re-opened in November 2024 and is utilised as an innovation and knowledge hub for the community. The Boot Factory is also home to Council Meetings, after the 2024 closure of the Bondi Road Council Chambers building.

Street parklets

A parklet is a footpath extension into the street that provides additional public space and amenities such as seating and planting. Parklets are intended to be community gathering places, aiming to enliven and invigorate streetscapes and provide spaces for interaction and relaxation, helping to meet any unmet demand for public space in thriving neighbourhoods and commercial areas.

The Waverley Council Parklet Program has been running since 2018, following a trial of two parklets on Spring Street in Bondi Junction. After this initial success, two more parklets were installed. In 2023, Council successfully acquired five new parklets as part of the NSW Government’s Streets as Shared Spaces Grant.

The flexibility and movability of parklets allow them to be utilised as trials and make them invaluable to Council’s aim of responding to any change in community priorities over time. Waverley Council’s fleet of parklets rotate around the LGA every year. Look out for the bright beacons of colour spotted around the neighbourhood.

For feedback or queries about parklets, email parklets@waverley.nsw.gov.au.