Newsletter - February 2026

This is the February 2026 newsletter for the St Peters Residents Association, representing the Residents of St Peters, College Park, Hackney, Stepney, Maylands, Evandale & Joslin.

Contents

Items that we hope you will find of interest include: -

Membership subscriptions for 2026 were due for renewal by 31st December.
Please refer to the membership page.

Dunstan Candidates Forum - 4 March 2026 at 7pm

The St Peters Residents Association, in conjunction with the Residents Associations of Norwood, Kent Town and Kensington, and the Maylands Evandale Stepney Community Network Group, is hosting a Town Hall Candidates Forum in the leadup to the State Election for the voters in the seat of Dunstan.

Please refer to the Dunstan Candidate Forum for more details.
We would appreciate you commenting on and sharing the Facebook Event.

SPRA Annual General Meeting - 4 March 2026 at 6:15pm

The AGM of the Association will be held prior to the Candidates Forum at 6.15pm on the 4th March.

All members are urged to attend.

Please refer to the AGM page for more details.

Blue Heritage Plaques Program

The NPSP Council a couple of years ago decided to recognise the value of the City’s built heritage through a Heritage Plaques Program. Owners of Local Heritage Places (LHP) in selected areas will be invited to apply to have a plaque attached to their property in a location where it will have good visibility from the street. The program forms part of the Council’s commitment to recognise and support owners of heritage places under its Built Heritage Strategy.

The oval shaped enamelled plaques will be in the internationally recognised blue colour and contain a short history of the property. A minimum of six plaques will be made available each year, however it is hoped that future Council budgets will allow for a greater number. All costs for the research, manufacture and fixing will be borne by the Council.

In July the Council invited the owners of LHPs in the Avenues Historic Area to apply for a plaque in the 2025 round of the program. The applications are currently being assessed.

Additional information about the property which cannot be accommodated on the plaque will be made available on the Council’s website and accessed via a QR Code on the plaque.

Keep a lookout for the blue plaques in the Avenues over the next few months.

Consultation Report - Richmond Street, Hackney - Bikeway and Streetscape Upgrade

For some years the SPRA Committee and local residents have been concerned about the ongoing 'Richmond Street Rat Run'.

In October last year the Council carried out public consultation on the issue, and the results were presented to Council’s Traffic Management and Road Safety Committee in late January.

The staff report to the committee contained the following conclusion: -

Richmond Street is a critical access route for the suburbs of Hackney, College Park and St Peters and plays an important role within City’s cycling and pedestrian network. Previous traffic investigations have identified a range of safety deficiencies, including high traffic volumes, narrow footpaths, limited provision for cyclists and a history of crashes. These issues are compounded by the high level of pedestrian and cyclist activity generated by nearby destinations and connections to the River Torrens Linear Park and the Adelaide CBD.

The proposed concept design responds to these constraints by prioritising safety, accessibility, and connectivity for all road users. Key treatments, including the provision of a shared use path, improved pedestrian and cyclist crossing facilities and raised intersections, are consistent with Council’s 2021-2026 City-Wide Cycling Plan Action Plan and support the creation of a lower-speed, safer street environment.

The community consultation that has been undertaken has identified mixed views, with a majority of respondents expressing support for the project. Key concerns relating to the removal of on-street parking, raised intersections and construction impacts are acknowledged and have been taken into account.

Proceeding to detailed design represents an evidence-based response to the identified safety risks and strategic objectives of this project. Approval of the recommended option will enable the concept design to be refined, respond to stakeholder comments and concerns, and progress a project that improves safety, amenity, and access along Richmond Street for pedestrians, cyclists and the broader community.

The detailed design work should be included in the 2026-27 NPSP Budget.

You can view the full report on the NPSP council website.

Adelaide Caravan Park Redevelopment - Rejected

In December 2024 the Aspen Group, the owners of the Adelaide Caravan Park on Richmond Street Hackney lodged plans for a $70m complete redevelopment of the present site. The roughly triangular 1.4 hectare site is bounded by Richmond Street, Twelftree Reserve, the River Torrens and Old Mill Park Reserve.

The Council Assessment Panel considered the application at a meeting in January where SPRA, and a number of local residents, made further verbal submissions to the Panel. None of the Panel members supported the development and the application was refused Planning Consent.

You can read the reasons in the Adelaide Caravan Park Redevelopment - Rejected and SPRA's Verbal Presentation.

Seventh Avenue and Eighth Avenue St Peters – Extension of the Existing St Peters Historic Area Overlay

At the NPSP Council meeting in January Cr Kester Moorhouse moved a motion to extend the St Peters Historic Overlay Area.

The existing St Peters Historic Area Overlay currently covers from First Avenue through to Sixth Avenue. The motion sought to extend the Historic Area Overlay further to also include parts of Seventh and Eighth Avenue between Harrow Road to Stephen Terrace, plus nearby side streets. The motion was unanimously supported by the Council members. Council staff will now prepare a report for Council’s consideration in the near future.

SPRA Vice-President David Cree, Heritage Architect and 7th Avenue resident Liz Vines, and 8th Avenue resident Dr Meredith Kaesehagen all addressed Council in support of the motion. David’s deputation can be seen at https://stpeters.asn.au/seventh

Cr Moorhouse’s motion can be seen in the Council Minutes on pages 12-14.

ESCOSA Report on Council Financial Sustainability

The Essential Services Commission (ESCOSA) is an independent statutory authority with functions in a range of essential services including the oversight of Council financial sustainability.

ESCOSA released reports for 19 Councils on 19 February, including for the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters.

The most important feature of the NPSP report was that ESCOSA forecast that the Council’s future financial performance is potentially unsustainable.

The City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters is the only metropolitan Council to be listed as either Unsustainable or Potentially Unsustainable.

This ESCOSA report validates the position that SPRA has taken over the last few years in its continued questioning of NPSP’s financial position and the transparency of Council’s financial planning.

More on this in future newsletters when the SPRA Committee has had a chance to examine the detail of the report.
The full report can be viewed online

Suggestions for Council Budget 2026-27

The Council will shortly begin deliberations on next year’s budget.

SPRA would like to hear from you about projects and works that could be considered when the budget is being prepared. They could be small things like new tree planting locations or major projects like a skate park.

Send your suggestions to the committee - info@stpeters.org.au.

Facebook Page

SPRA now has a Facebook page where some matters will be posted and where you can leave comments on items that have been posted.

Please follow on your Facebook app.

Please remember to renew your membership if you haven't already done so.