Co-designing a new vision for Church Street, Stanley

  • Stanley, Tasmania
  • Circular Head Council
  • 2023
  • <$100,000

Stanley is a small town on the north-west coast of Tasmania. The most distinctive feature in Stanley is moonatreker, commonly called The Nut, an extinct volcano and prominent natural landmark.

The Van Diemen's Land Company built a port and township at Stanley in the 1820s, and Church Street retains a historic character with tourist hotels and cottages mixed with shops, cafes and homes.

Jensen PLUS, working with Complete Streets, was commissioned by Circular Head Council to prepare a master plan for Church Street, to work collaboratively with the community and make Church Street mire walkable, attractive and comfortable.

Our vision is for Church Street as the heart of the Village of Stanley — a thriving main street where the spectacular setting of The Nut, the historic colonial architecture, and a new and high-quality streetscape combine to make a great place for locals to meet and for visitors to enjoy.

A highlight of the engagement was a two-day co-design workshop held in May 2023. The workshop was well attended and resulted in a new streetscape concept to match the quality of the local architecture, with strong community interest and support.

Church Street is very long and so a targeted approach to public realm upgrades, as well as a placemaking focus on 'Ten things to do in a revitalised Church Street', underlies the plan. The team also helped Council secure $15,000 state government funding for two parklets to create for a summer 2023/24 activation of the street!

You can read more about our co-design workshop here.

"Jensen PLUS and Complete Streets led a community-focused master planning process for Circular Head Council at Church Street, Stanley in 2023.

Stanley is a well known and historic place that attracts summer tourists, with Church Street’s period buildings being a big attraction. But the public realm isn’t very exciting and does little to encourage people to stay longer and contribute to street life.

The team had a job balancing their urban design, economic and transport expertise with the community passion and strong opinions found in every small town. But their approach was well received and has given our council and community confidence in the plan. We’ve even got a temporary activation project underway for this summer to keep momentum going."

Phil Loone
Director Infrastructure and Development Services
Circular Head Council