WEIRD BENDIGO
BENDIGO’S residential Strategy will be reviewed because of greater than expected growth.
The State Government has announced a grant of $50,000 to carry out the review.
The review is needed because, according to the State Government, 40 per cent of the forecast growth between 2006 and 2031 had already been realised.
Regional Development Parliamentary Secretary Damian Drum made the announcement this morning.
Mr Drum said the Bendigo Residential Strategy Review would deliver greater community and investor certainty, helping the region grow.
“The Bendigo Residential Development Strategy was adopted in 2004 and is currently being audited because of the faster than anticipated growth that has occurred in Bendigo in recent years,” he said.
“Strong residential growth has many flow-on economic benefits and having a clear framework for future development will position Greater Bendigo City Council to undertake more detailed, place-based planning in the future.”
Deputy Premier Peter Ryan said about 40 per cent of the forecast growth between 2006 and 2031 had already been realised.
The Residential Strategy impacts directly on where and how property developments use “infill” parcels of land, range of housing styles and also on housing affordability.
“This project will review the strategy, assess current and estimated land supply and demand and consider various legislative and policy changes,” Mr Ryan said,
“It will also consider the latest demographic data and establish a new strategic framework to guide the long-term residential growth of Greater Bendigo.
“The project will result in a revised residential strategy that will give developers, the community and service providers greater surety and confidence about where land can be developed for residential purposes, and that sufficient land is available to accommodate the City of Greater Bendigo’s future growth.”
Mr Ryan said a contemporary strategic planning framework was essential to the economic development of a large regional centre like Bendigo.
“Clearly identifying future growth options and supporting infrastructure needs will enable the Greater Bendigo City Council and other infrastructure providers to plan their capital works programs well in advance,” he said.
“Identifying long-term growth areas will enable the council and other service authorities to start planning for the delivery of services, thereby minimising the lag time between when residential development occurs and when the services need to be in place.”
| Bendigo Weekly | 15-Apr-2011 1.43
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Cristean Tilkeridis and Aiden Kongas
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Walking down Mitchell Street a few weeks ago, I spied a sign on a shopfront that got my pulse racing.
It said “New Gallery Opening Soon”.
It was the small print that intrigued me. “Stocking local, national and international contemporary pop art, lowbrow art, pop surrealism and underground art, art and design books, vinyl collectible figures and ceramics.”
You don’t often see the word “lowbrow” or “underground” in Bendigo.
Hudson’s Hub was the gallery’s name, the architect of this venture 30-year-old Cristean Tilkeridis, who up until very recently was a social worker at St Luke’s.
Cristean is a man on a mission. His aim? To bring “a diverse range of imported and local art to Bendigo” in a way it’s never quite been done before.
Studying graphic design at BRIT – later La Trobe University – Cristean decided that he was “more cut out as an art appreciator than an artist”, the first thing he tells me when we meet in his new space.
So he stepped back from making art and “re-evaluated” his career. Human Services called him instead, as did art collecting.
It’s a big leap going from art collector to art dealer though. And opening a gallery is a big investment. “I know,” grins Cristean, when I ask him about making the transition.
“I’ve spent a lot of time travelling to Melbourne over the years to buy the kind of stuff I like and one day I thought why not open a shop here in Bendigo.” But it wasn’t done on a whim.
“I’ve had the plan for about five years now – it’s not an impulse by any means – I did a small business course. It’s a serious venture.”
Cristean’s taste is certainly out there – a man after my own heart I have to say.
I too was bitten by the underground art bug early, having spent many hours poring over weird art books in Melbourne institutions like Polyester, collecting figurines at Minotaur and later buying reproductions (I couldn’t afford originals) by amazing artists such as Mark Ryden, Shag and Alex Gross from Outre Gallery.
Growing out of his love for comics as a teenager – shared by high school friend and artist Logan French (whose work Cristean will stock), Cristean’s interests moved further underground as he discovered work by Joe Mad, Kyozyndan, Shag, Keith P. and Chris Batchelor.
We spend a bit of time looking at the work he’s bringing into Hudson’s Hub on Cristean’s laptop. It’s clear that he is attracted to illustration that is at once beautiful and strange.
He shows me a little mutant vinyl creature – “Desk toys I like to call them”, he laughs – which is beguiling.
Limited edition prints and drawings will adorn the walls too, hard to get unless you have the chops to ring the artists directly to ask whether they have Australian distribution.
Which he did and they didn’t.
But is Bendigo ready for this kind of culture? Judging from the multitude of excited posts on Hudson’s Hub Facebook page, it is.
“The Bendigo art scene is coming alive!” was one. “At this rate artists won’t have to leave Bendigo to feel appreciated and supported... So good to have art accessible to buyers!”
But Cristean is a commercial realist too, hoping to strike a balance between underground and mainstream – “I love both” he confesses.
“I think the time is right to bring in something new to Bendigo. I want people to be challenged – to a point – and excited because they will experience diverse art with a difference.”
Count me in.
www.hudsonshub.com and 78 Mitchell Street Bendigo.
BENDIGO’S residential Strategy will be reviewed because of greater than expected growth.
The State Government has announced a grant of $50,000 to carry out the review.
The review is needed because, according to the State Government, 40 per cent of the forecast growth between 2006 and 2031 had already been realised.
Regional Development Parliamentary Secretary Damian Drum made the announcement this morning.
Mr Drum said the Bendigo Residential Strategy Review would deliver greater community and investor certainty, helping the region grow.
“The Bendigo Residential Development Strategy was adopted in 2004 and is currently being audited because of the faster than anticipated growth that has occurred in Bendigo in recent years,” he said.
“Strong residential growth has many flow-on economic benefits and having a clear framework for future development will position Greater Bendigo City Council to undertake more detailed, place-based planning in the future.”
Deputy Premier Peter Ryan said about 40 per cent of the forecast growth between 2006 and 2031 had already been realised.
The Residential Strategy impacts directly on where and how property developments use “infill” parcels of land, range of housing styles and also on housing affordability.
“This project will review the strategy, assess current and estimated land supply and demand and consider various legislative and policy changes,” Mr Ryan said,
“It will also consider the latest demographic data and establish a new strategic framework to guide the long-term residential growth of Greater Bendigo.
“The project will result in a revised residential strategy that will give developers, the community and service providers greater surety and confidence about where land can be developed for residential purposes, and that sufficient land is available to accommodate the City of Greater Bendigo’s future growth.”
Mr Ryan said a contemporary strategic planning framework was essential to the economic development of a large regional centre like Bendigo.
“Clearly identifying future growth options and supporting infrastructure needs will enable the Greater Bendigo City Council and other infrastructure providers to plan their capital works programs well in advance,” he said.
“Identifying long-term growth areas will enable the council and other service authorities to start planning for the delivery of services, thereby minimising the lag time between when residential development occurs and when the services need to be in place.”
