PLAN PUTS CITY STREETS AHEAD Tourists key target of beautification project
A PLAN to transform the Cairns Esplanade into a vibrant entertainment and dining precinct in an effort to enhance the city’s image as an attractive tourism destination, has been given the green light.
After about 12 months of rallying by Crystalbrook Collection, the Esplanade strip between Shields and Aplin sts is headed for a transformation.
Crystalbrook Collection CEO Mark Davie said during Syrian billionaire Ghassan Aboud’s most recent visit to Cairns, Mayor Bob Manning made a commitment that he’d be moving ahead with an Esplanade enhancement project.
It's understood a dedicated team has been appointed to lead the project, with an architect also on board.
Mr Davie said the enhancement would help Cairns thrive in an ever-increasing world of tourism competition.
“We’ve always felt strongly that the Esplanade has got so much more to offer than what it’s currently offering,” he said.
“For us, it’s an obvious development for Cairns if it does want to keep up with ever-increasing competition that we’re getting from overseas tourist locations.
“Cairns as a city needs to be continuing to look at its weaknesses and its strengths if it is to continue to grow in the area of tourism, which the city depends on.”
Mayor Bob Manning said council had plans for an Esplanade enhancement, but remained tight-lipped on what they included.
“For some time, the council has been working on the CBD masterplan … and there is some work that we’re doing in regard to that and yes, some of the Esplanade area is caught up in that,” he said.
“We’re reviewing the masterplan, we’re looking at some areas that we will undertake some enhancement work.
“But at this stage of the game we’re not out making statements about it, we’re just getting on (with) some planning work and we’re consulting with the relevant landholders. There’s quite a number of them.”
A Cairns Chamber of Commerce survey this month revealed nearly half of Cairns CBD businesses would like to see the Esplanade closed to traffic in the afternoon.
Of those, 43.48 per cent said the Esplanade should be closed to vehicles from the late afternoon/early evening, 39.13 per cent said it should be closed for special occasions and 17.39 per cent said it should close on weekends. The survey also found 88.9 per cent of business owners supported the beautification of the Esplanade between Shields and Aplin sts.
In the Cairns Post’s Your Say on the Far North survey last year, 52 per cent of readers said Cairns Esplanade should be closed permanently to traffic between Shields and Aplin sts for outdoor dining.
Crystalbrook opened Riley hotel late last year and is on course to open Flynn hotel on the Esplanade early 2020.
Mr Davie said the hope was to see the Esplanade become more than a dining precinct, but an entertainment space.
“The lagoon area demonstrates how Cairns really depends on that as a city to attract tourists,” he said.
“We know that there’s a lot of planning that needs to be done … but the plan is that over the next 12 months we’ll finish up with a terrific entertainment area that both locals and tourists will be able to enjoy.
“What we’re hoping is that it becomes truly an entertaining area so that music, festivals, displays, indigenous demonstrations and indigenous involvement down there as well, which is a major attraction for Cairns in the area of tourism.”