{"id":11050,"date":"2021-04-18T10:01:15","date_gmt":"2021-04-18T10:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=11050"},"modified":"2021-04-18T10:01:15","modified_gmt":"2021-04-18T10:01:15","slug":"transformation-of-hamiltons-james-street-plaza-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2021\/04\/18\/transformation-of-hamiltons-james-street-plaza-begins\/","title":{"rendered":"Transformation of Hamilton\u2019s James Street Plaza begins"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>City of Newcastle is kicking off work on its transformation of James Street Plaza to revitalise the space and attract more visitors, families, and shoppers to the popular spot on Beaumont Street.<br \/>\nFollowing community engagement on concept designs the Hamilton community will be able to enjoy the revitalised space sooner than first planned, with work now underway.<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" title=\"James-Street-Plaza-Copy-1.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au\/getattachment\/Council\/News\/Latest-News\/Transformation-of-Hamilton-s-James-Street-Plaza-be\/James-Street-Plaza-Copy-1.jpg\" alt=\"James-Street-Plaza-Copy-1.jpg\" \/><br \/>\nThe upgrade will see an overhaul of paving, new street furniture and landscaping, and new artworks and ground etchings acknowledging Hamilton\u2019s rich history.<br \/>\nNewcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the upgrade will transform the plaza into a more safe, inclusive, and inviting place for local businesses and the community.<br \/>\n\u201cJames Street Plaza is an important space in the Beaumont Street shopping area, and this upgrade will improve the look and feel of the plaza as well as create a safer space for the community to enjoy,\u201d the Lord Mayor said.<br \/>\n\u201cThroughout our community engagement and regular discussions with business owners we have heard lots of ideas of how to improve the space, and in particular address concerns about safety at night.\u201d<br \/>\nUpgrades to the plaza designed to improve activity in the space include an interactive lighting display developed in collaboration with the University of Newcastle, intended to create interest and celebrate Hamilton\u2019s unique character and heritage.<br \/>\nCouncillor Carol Duncan said the design reflects the broad feedback from the community, as well as contributions from local historian Ruth Cotton, author of\u00a0<em>Hidden Hamilton<\/em>.<br \/>\n\u201cEtchings on ground paving and signage in the plaza have been informed by Ruth\u2019s extensive research of Hamilton\u2019s history \u2013 from its traditional owners, through the suburb\u2019s history as a mining settlement, its rich European influence from the Lettopalena Italian migrant community, and the impact of the 1989 earthquake,\u201d Cr Duncan said.<br \/>\n\u201cUpgrades to seating, paving and landscaping will better facilitate activation of the space for markets and live music.<br \/>\n\u201cOnce this valuable upgrade is complete, the design of James Street Plaza will reflect the rich culture of the suburb of Hamilton and will be an attractive central meeting place for people.\u201d<br \/>\nCommunity feedback on the lighting concept options will be sought towards the end of the construction period.<br \/>\nWorks are underway and are expected to be completed by mid 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>City of Newcastle is kicking off work on its transformation of James Street Plaza to revitalise the space and attract more visitors, families, and shoppers to the popular spot on Beaumont Street. Following community engagement on concept designs the Hamilton community will be able to enjoy the revitalised space sooner than first planned, with work &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2021\/04\/18\/transformation-of-hamiltons-james-street-plaza-begins\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Transformation of Hamilton\u2019s James Street Plaza begins&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newcastle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11050\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}