Inclusive businesses, public artworks and a pride museum: City of Sydney pushes ahead with Oxford Street revamp

By PATRICK MCKENZIE

The City of Sydney unveiled a draft LGBTQIA+ social and cultural place strategy for Oxford Street this week after a fraught public consultation process.

The City published a draft of the proposal on Monday, which seeks to preserve the community history, culture and character of Oxford Street, as well as fund new artworks, businesses and a pride museum.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said that the strategy would prioritise and protect Oxford Street’s LGBTQIA+ identity.

“We’re committed to building on its reputation as an iconic gay and lesbian and creative precinct, buzzing with activity day and night,” Moore said.

“Over the course of our consultation for new planning controls for the area, we heard loud and clear that you want the area’s LGBTIQA+ character protected and enhanced.”

National Trust concerned that Oxford Street proposals would ‘irreversibly damage’ the area 

The City has received a number of submissions during an ongoing consultation period. The proposed Oxford Street cultural and creative precinct plan includes measures to allow for greater building heights and floor space in redevelopments, on the condition that heritage is protected and new space for creative and cultural activities is provided.

In January, the National Trust of Australia warned that the proposal could “drastically alter the distinctive character of Oxford Street and irreversibly damage the heritage” of the precinct. 

The issue came to a head during a meeting last month when a motion from Greens councillor Sylvie Ellsmore, which called for consideration of the planning proposals to be deferred until after the public consultation for the strategy had ended, was defeated.  

In response to the motion, a spokesperson for Moore told City Hub that measures from the strategy “will largely be managed outside the remit of planning controls, so did not need to hold up their passage through council”. 

City of Sydney strategy to ‘elevate’ the Oxford Street precinct

On Monday, Moore said that the strategy was “one of only a handful in the world to explore ways to protect and preserve LGBTIQA+ culture and communities”. 

She also emphasised that with the new planning controls, the strategy would help deliver more cultural spaces to help move towards a 24-hour precinct with “more inclusive and diverse cultural offerings”. 

Another proposed change under the planning controls is to transform the National Art School (NAS) and nearby Taylor Square into a major cultural centre by opening the courts in Darlinghurst to Oxford Street.

Moore said it would “elevate the historic complex to a major cultural destination”. 

The City also said that the new planning controls would “create incentives to co-locate creative industries and enterprises in certain areas” – citing the proposed NAS changes as an example.

Ellsmore said that it was the responsibility of council to give the strategy “enough time for [council] to finish the conversation with the community” before making further changes.

The summary of the strategy notes that consultation for the strategy has been ongoing since early 2020, when council adopted the Local Strategic Planning Statement City Plan 2036.