A golden opportunity: councillors look at plan to give Lucknow a facelift

Orange City councillors will consider at a meeting tomorrow night whether to put a master plan for upgrades to Lucknow on public exhibition.

Features include a village heart with green space and an additional speciality retail precinct on a shared laneway, enhanced landscaping along the main street, highway upgrades to create a pedestrian main street with space for parking and footpaths, refurbishment of Wentworth Mine, new streets to unlock land with development potential and higher residential density in the village core to lift the population

Tourism-based offerings would be encouraged, including food outlets with an emphasis on regional produce, and redevelopment of the Goldfields Tavern would also be encouraged to improve its appeal as a destination.

Lucknow committee member and resident Bruce Heinrich said it had been 15 years or more in the making.

“We’ve got to take the appearance and the progress of the village forward,” he said.

“We’re part of the Orange city area, but we haven’t had much happen in the last few years.”

Mr Heinrich said Orange was gradually running out of land for additional housing and Lucknow and Spring Hill could provide a solution.

“As long as they maintain the village atmosphere, that’s the main thing,” he said. 

 Owner of 2 Fat Ladies and fellow committee member Helen Livingstone said Lucknow was the gateway to Orange and it was under capitalised.

“That’s the first sight coming into Orange and you can’t have people thinking, ‘what the hell is this?’ because it’s rough on the way in,” she said.

“I don’t think people realise the history of the gold so much.”

She welcomed the pathway proposal because many people crossed the road between her business and Lucknow Skin Shop and Boot Barn, with little room to walk.

Goldfields Tavern owners could not be reached for comment.

What improvements would you like to see in Lucknow? Email danielle.cetinski@fairfaxmedia.com.au