In her role as Chamber Vice President, Tracey Mietzke attended the recent Manly Place Plan Project Working Group.
The meeting also was attended by all the consulting firms engaged by Northern Beaches Council, along with Council and Councillor representation. It was a robust group of very enthusiastic contributors, and everyone was keen to represent their individual organisations. In my role representing Manly Business Chamber, I expressed the Chamber’s desire, in line with the Manly Commercial Vision document the Chamber commissioned in 2018 and then updated late 2019, of our desire to see The Corso become a destination, versus a thoroughfare which is what The Corso has sadly become over the years. There is so much opportunity for The Corso to become a more energetic, attractive and beautiful public space where the community can come to meet, and dwell, or simply use it as a means of passage, but in a more appealing and community-sensitive way. I was buoyed by the incredible amount of positive support I received via both the Zoom chat-box and also verbal feedback from the different members of the PWG for such improvements to happen along not only The Corso, but also the pedestrianised area of Sydney Rd. This was a great opportunity for the consultants working on the Manly Place Plan to hear first hand what the Chamber would like to see happen in Manly, and it has now no doubt set the stage for further discussions.
Other strong support was heard for more live music in Manly, an improvement in Manly Library and also future use of The Manly Town Hall, along with needs around loading zones, signage compliance from businesses in the Manly CBD, and also bike usage.
Looking forward to our next meeting next month, and please feel free to share any comments you would like to make with us regarding Manly’s Place Plan.