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Imagine a tree-lined main street filled with restaurants, cafes and the sounds of live music. That is what developer Sekisui House envisages for Gledswood Hills. Residents are also being invited to have their say on the suburb’s proposed entertainment precinct. Sekisui House senior development manager Brent Thompson said the idea for precinct came from meetings with local residents. “We listened to what residents had to say,” he said. “We held focus groups and community consultation and what came out of that was that residents are looking for something different. “They were yearning for sophisticated dining and cafe experiences.” The proposed development would be a mixed use zone including residential and commercial premises. The residential zone will include 500 apartments in multi-storey dwellings. Mr Thompson said the new precinct would also be more pedestrian friendly. “We’ve gone with a main street approach so it is made for people not for cars,” he said. “It will be a vibrant precinct so there will always be something on. “Our aim is to have things happen from a reasonable hour of morning to a reasonable hour of night like markets and live bands.” The site is adjacent to the future Gledswood Hills primary school so the precinct would also feature a childcare facility and a children’s playground. “The play space would be located at the social meeting area so parents can socialise while their children play,” he said. “We understand society these days is time poor so we would also have some convenience stores like a baker, butcher and pharmacist for example. “That way parents can drop their kids to school and run into the shop and grab some things for dinner to make the most of their time.” Mr Thompson said they hoped to have the entertainment quarter completed by 2020, if all council approvals go to plan. He said the inspiration for the new development came from a range of sources. “Our project team travelled nationally and internationally looking at several town centres and there are lessons and elements from them captured in the design,” he said. “Locally, we looked at Argyle Street in Camden [as an inspiration].” Mr Thompson said they welcomed feedback on the proposed development. “We look forward to resident feedback from Camden Council – and we look forward to seeing this vision come to fruition,” he said. The proposed changes to the Gledswood Hills precinct will be on public exhibition at Camden Council in the next two weeks.

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