Market Square Restroom Project | St Arnaud

Market Square is a small park situated in the center of St Arnaud – directly behind the main street and council buildings. The park is already well used by the community with several existing features and attractions. These include a performance space, skate park, playground and a sloping shaded lawn beneath mature trees. Market Square is currently used for large community gatherings and informal play by the kindergarten, local children and their families.  

The development of the Market Square Master Plan aimed to create a visible, accessible and flexible community space that supports both large formal and small informal community and visitor gatherings. The master plan has considered the broader context of Market Square within St Arnaud along with a more detailed analysis of the existing site opportunities and constraints. The design has been developed in consultation with the project team, council and the community.

This master plan is intended to:

• Use information gathered from the site analysis to highlight opportunities for improvement to the park and surrounds;
• Establish the optimal use of each area and the relationships between them;
• Seek agreement from community, council and stakeholders to the purpose and future development of the spaces; and
• Engage the community in order to establish priorities, guide budgeting and staging of future works. 

Key considerations of the masterplan included: 

• Existing site context 
• Existing documentation such as St Arnaud Civic Precinct Plan 2014 and Community engagement findings summary 2018 
• Existing built conditions 
• Existing environmental conditions
• Social patterns and uses
• Existing play analysis
• Existing car park
• Opportunities and constraints
• Project design principles, such as: 
  • Visible, safe and accessible
  • Playful
  • Inviting and comfortable
  • Honour existing character
  • Community gathering 

The four stages below have been created to either run in consecutive order, one-by-one or as one set of activities simultaneously. These projects align with council's capital strategy and will be completed in specific stages.  

Stage 1: Junior Play & Surrounds - Completed 

Stage 2: Nature Play Area - Completed 

Stage 3: Car Park and Senior Play Area – To be delivered 

Stage 4: Restrooms - In Progress (the restroom project has been brought forward due to the availability of funding specific to this infrastructure)

Northern Grampians Shire Council, assisted by Jeavons Landscape Architects, engaged with the community about their needs and wants for market square using several strategies, including:  

• Predesign engagement activities including, online surveys, paper surveys, social media, schools, newspapers, face to face and focus groups – outlined in the Engagement Finding Summary.  

• Onsite tours with community members and Jeavons Landscape Architects.  

• Presentation and opportunity to comment on the Sketch Master Plan from focus groups.  

• Presentation and opportunity to comment on the Sketch on the Draft Master Plan. The comments, concerns and suggestions from the engagement sessions were incorporated at each stage of the master plan development. Resulting in what we believe responds to the community needs and desires for Market Square.  

• Local St Arnaud residents voted on their desired colour option via a Community Engagement Survey which was conducted in early December 2024. Pale Eucalypt was the option which received the highest number of votes and was therefore selected for development.