We’re excited to see the Gawler Town Centre out for public consultation throughout June. Jensen PLUS has worked closely with the Town of Gawler, the consultant team and elected members over the past nine months. There’s a lot in it - but here are 10 highlights.
- For a growing region, we looked closely at how a town centre established in 1857 can grow and change — not just to manage population growth, but to benefit from it and remain the heart of the region.
- Detailed analysis of future land use demand for shops, offices, apartments, medical and community facilities, and visitor accommodation by David Snoswell.
- Urban design modelling of future development sites using the excellent Giraffe
- A Movement + Place approach to transport and public realm analysis with Be Engineering, leading to targeted street upgrade concepts that integrate traffic and urban design.
- Careful consideration of heritage and character buildings, and how new development can complement them. Our work with Phillips Pilkington Architects will also help inform future planning policy changes.
- A rapid multi-criteria assessment process with Scott Elaurant to prioritise public infrastructure projects, including those for now and those triggered by adjacent development.
- An ongoing and genuine engagement process led by Stacey and the Gawler team, including a strong reference group and plenty of time with elected members. Regular working groups really do work.
- Development of a 3D structure plan with a vision for the town centre to address the river and the station, supported by planning policy and zoning changes to guide growth in the right places.
- Communicating with different audiences through plans, diagrams, models and visualisations, while testing new software options available to us.
- A great community and project team to work with. Well done to everyone involved in getting the draft plan together.
The Gawler Town Centre Structure Plan and Development Delivery Framework is on consultation until 3rd July 2026. We’d encourage anyone with an interest in Gawler’s future to have a look: https://yourvoice.gawler.sa.gov.au/town-centre-structure-plan/
