The City of Mitcham has moved a step closer to the creation of a walkway from Waite Street Reserve to the central carpark in Blackwood with the sale of land in Young Street on the western side of the Drakes Supermarket.

Mayor Dr Heather Holmes-Ross said, “The sale of this key strategic land, located in the heart of Blackwood, will reinvigorate and improve the Blackwood Centre.”

“The sale of this land will open up the Centre by creating a new north-south pedestrian link from Waite Street Reserve, through the central car parking area, to Shepherds Hill Road.”

“It will also see the development of new shops on the land, along with improvements to the streetscape and parking on Young Street”, said Mayor Dr Holmes-Ross

She said “This exciting initiative to revitalise Blackwood and provide a new pedestrian connection will be completed by the new landowner, a local investor, as a condition of the sale contract.

Mayor Dr Holmes-Ross said “We are continuing to invest in the Blackwood precinct for local business and our community.

“With construction on the new $12 million Blackwood Community Hub about to start, the new walkway will connect the centre in a strategic north-south linkage, to better integrate the new Hub with its surrounds.”

“The new shops plus improved streetscaping and parking on Young Street, will create local jobs and attract further new investment in the Blackwood precinct”, she said.

Construction on the new $12 million Blackwood Community Hub will start in December 2021 and is expected to be completed by mid-2023.

Development of the new retail shops and the associated walkway, plus improvements to the streetscape and more parking on Young Street will be completed by the end of 2024.