Sunshine Coast Council has revealed its plans to revive Nambour’s historic CBD in keeping with its long-term commitment to boosting the region’s music and entertainment industry.

The Nambour Place Plan hopes to turn the inner-city hub into a “naturally beautiful, creative and culturally active” town which they’ve named the ‘heart of the hinterland’.

Council says it wants to fuse the town centre’s growing reputation as a creative and welcoming place through greener streets, wider pathways, art installations and open spaces.

Sunshine Coast Council Division 10 Councillor David Law said the design, which encompasses five streets within Nambour’s town centre, met the values and needs of the community.

“One of the highlights for me in this plan is the improved pedestrian experience with cooler greener streets, welcoming spaces, and generous footpaths to encourage outdoor dining and socialising” Cr Law said.

“The design also encourages a more active main street where people feel comfortable, safe and connected as they walk through town.

“I’m pleased to see the project drawing inspiration and direction from community engagement and this next stage honours and acknowledges how quickly the town is changing and expanding.”

Council set up the Nambour Special Entertainment Precinct (SEP) in 2014 to accommodate a range of business uses and entertainment activities in the CBD.

These include restaurants, bars, theatres and nightclubs, with live or amplified music, to encourage vibrancy and support the night time economy.

Since then we’ve seen venues such a Small Change Espresso and Dance, Art, Etc host live music, as well as Council’s own Nambour Forecourt Live monthly music nights in collaboration with Peace Run Records & Agency.

Council said preliminary design and feasibility work for repurposing the Nambour Administration buildings was already underway, with Wilson Architects at the helm.

Potential uses for the buildings include a new district library, multi-purpose community spaces, a customer care centre and Council administration offices.

More than 200 council staff will continue to be based in Nambour as part of Council’s broader regional Workplaces program.

Cr Law said feedback from the Nambour Community Safety Survey late last year allowed Council to understand the perception of crime and safety in Nambour.

The final report gave recommendations including creating a multi-agency partnership, implementing visible uniformed patrols on foot and bike, and activating public spaces.

This placemaking strategy is part of Nambour Centre Activation Project – focussed on invigorating this major hinterland centre over the next 10 years.

The community can meet with the project team at one of the pop-up sessions running until September 14 and share their feedback via an online survey before September 22.

Pop-up sessions:

• 4pm-7pm, Friday 25 August: Nambour Forecourt Live event, Bury St

• 8am-2pm, Thursday 31, August: Nambour Townsquare market

• 10am-Noon, Tuesday 5 September: Nambour Library

• 9:30am-12.30pm, Saturday 9 September: Mill Village Centre, Mill St

• 9:30am-12.30pm, Thursday 14 September: Plaza Nambour, Ann St

Visit Sunshine Coast Council for more details.