Council commits to Renew Leichhardt
Image: Marcus Westbury
A motion to turn vacant shops into temporary spaces for arts and culture received unanimous support at a meeting of Leichhardt Council last week. As revealed in the Inner West Independent on May 23, the ‘Renew Leichhardt’ initiative aims to revitalise the struggling Italian Forum, Norton St and Parramatta Rd commercial precincts and is based on a successful predecessor in Newcastle.
The next stage in implementing the scheme will be a $25,000 scoping study to test the interest of property owners and local creatives.
Mayor of Leichhardt Darcy Byrne said the initiative “has the potential to attract a whole new crowd and give a second wind to our Italian heritage”.
But Greens Councillor Daniel Kogoy, who led the effort, worries that the project will not be adequately funded by Council. “My concern is that we won’t commit enough resources to this proven high street revitalization model,” he said.
President of the Sydney College of the Arts Students Society, Meghan Rheynolds, predicts many artists will jump at the opportunity to be involved with Renew Leichhardt.
“Leichhardt Council realise that art enriches a society culturally and financially. By producing a hub of creative energy in the inner west, the potential for economic development and gentrification is increased,” she said.
Founder of Renew Newcastle and chair of Renew Australia, Marcus Westbury, described the inner west as an ideal place for the initiative. “[Leichhardt] has a fantastic creative community with a relatively high number of vacant spaces,” he said.
However, Mr Westbury did highlight the need for Council to fully commit to supporting the initiative.
“It’s a lot of leg work talking to, convincing and working with property owners to reassure them that we understand their needs, have professional management in place and have thought through all their concerns,” he said.
Mr Kogoy said he would like to see the Renew Leichhardt program in action as soon as possible, requiring Leichhardt Council to make the project a top funding priority.
By Alisha Aitken-Radburn
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