The town of Peterborough has again been awarded the Kelledy Jones best regional main street award for improving the attractiveness of town as a place to live, work and invest.
The main street renewal project was a collaboration between main street business owners, the District Council of Peterborough, Regions SA and the local community who have all worked together to rekindle the interest and pride of local owners for their buildings.
The changes in the main street worked towards bringing together five key development efforts into one large project including; the under grounding of power lines to increase aesthetic appeal, restoring the painting the historical facades, the development of a shared used use outdoor dining protuberances to encourage visitors to stop and vinyl art/ advertising displays in empty shop fronts.
These changes were made to revitalise owners, both commercial and private with their buildings and bring together diverse groups, local government and community representatives with the objective to see positive change.
The Peterborough History Group assisted with images which enabled buildings to be restored with historical accuracy and significance, in addition to local builders and suppliers completing the building and Wi-Fi works.
The Mayor of the council, Ruth Whittle was overjoyed with the outcome of the awards process, that was announced last week.
“Peterborough had a high level of community support and volunteerism. It is a project several local stakeholders were involved with and the whole town is proud of”, Mayor Whittle said.
The chief executive officer of Regional Development Yorke Mid North Kelly-Anne Saffin was delighted with the win as well and thanked the invaluable work of Nicole Lewis and Hayley Trott, the community development officers for the town.
“The community embracing the project and working alongside builders and suppliers is also a huge achievement”, she said.
The aim of the project was to improve the attractiveness of the town as a place to live, work and invest in the words of the judges, “steam trains used to stop here, now tourists stop here. This has been an incredible result using a change in image to promote a change in local economies.”
“The judges were impressed with the continuation of the recent main street investment that has successfully harnessed the resources of multiple stakeholders and the local community to achieve a significant uplift in civic pride and business and tourism opportunities.”
The outcomes of the upgrade has not only seen the restoration and rejuvenation of 25 buildings, but seen a reduction in empty main street buildings, an advancement in town collaboration and improved town pride.
The chief executive officer of the District Council of Peterborough, Regional Development Yorke Mid North (RDAYM chief executive officer and staff attended the awards on Friday October 19.
