The cultural heart of Newcastle

Our cultural institutions are at the heart of Newcastle’s vibrant city. To enhance and celebrate this, we developed the Civic Public Domain Plan (PDP)—a guiding framework to deliver high-quality public spaces and amenities within the Civic Precinct. This plan strengthens the area’s identity as Newcastle’s arts and cultural hub while supporting the broader renewal of the city centre.

The PDP will ensure the heritage and character of the precinct are preserved while creating a welcoming and dynamic public space for arts, culture, and innovation to thrive. By promoting safety, accessibility, and enhanced public amenities, the plan will shape a city where people love to live, work, and visit.

We will be:

  • reinforcing the Civic Precinct as Newcastle’s arts and cultural hub
  • creating more opportunities for public art, events and activations
  • improving connectivity and active transport across the precinct
  • increasing greenery and landscaping to create inviting, cooler spaces.

Our PDP aligns with the Cultural Precinct Masterplan, ensuring a cohesive and sustainable approach to urban renewal. It provides guidance for the City of Newcastle, developers, and other stakeholders carrying out public domain works within the Civic Precinct.

Our plan will cover:

  • King Street (between Union Street and Darby Street)
  • Darby Street (between Laman Street and Hunter Street)
  • Auckland Street, Workshop Way, Merewether Street, and Hunter Street.

We will also enhance our major public spaces such as Civic Park, Wheeler Place, and Christie Park, further cementing Newcastle’s identity as a vibrant and welcoming city.

Explore the rendered imagery

Rendered concept image of the Memorial Grove in Civic Park.
Rendered concept image of the Darby Street entry into Civic Park.
Rendered concept image of the Civic Park amenities block.
Rendered concept image of the Wall Memorial Tree Avenue.
Rendered concept image of King Street.
Rendered concept image of Wheeler Place at night time.
Rendered concept image of Wheeler Place in the daytime.
Rendered concept image of Wheeler Place in the daytime.
Rendered concept image of Wheeler Place at night time.
Rendered concept image of Christie Park.

Explore the plan

Take a virtual tour of the draft Plan by viewing the overall plan below and clicking on the:

  • purple icons to see the existing and proposed street layout
  • blue icons to see the concept images for the Civic precinct.

Pro-tip: Click the arrows to view the virtual tour on a full screen.

You can view the full Plan via the document library on this page.

We reimagined the cultural core of Newcastle – together

Between 16 April ad 29 May 2025 we invited the community to find out more and have their say on the draft Civic Public Domain Plan by:

  • Participating in a walkshop event
  • Sharing their feedback via the online feedback form
  • Speaking to our team at a pop-up event

Collaboration is key to creating a vibrant and inclusive Civic Precinct. By working together, we will shape a public domain that reflects Newcastle’s rich heritage, supports its growth, and enhances the quality of life for everyone.

You can find out more about what we heard through the community engagement by viewing our Engagement Summary Report which provides a high-level summary of what we heard, if you want more detail - you can read the full Consultation Report.

Next steps

We're now exploring opportunities to refine the draft plan in response to community and stakeholder input, ensuring it reflects local needs and priorities wherever possible.

Once these refinements are considered, the updated draft will be submitted to Council for adoption.

This is your cultural backyard – thanks for being part of its future.

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