Message from City of Holdfast Bay Mayor, Amanda Wilson

Jetty Road and Glenelg are thriving.

Our summer events draw thousands of people to the Bay for unique experiences by the sea – among them locals, residents from neighbouring suburbs, and interstaters.

We’ve had opera on the beach, celebrations of seafood, ice cream, and fireworks, with 100,000 people converging on our shores to see in the new year.

We agree that Jetty Road and the precinct need to be modernised and we are working towards that.

The tricky part is getting the balance right between maintaining the history and seaside village feel of the area while creating a modern, coastal tourist precinct.

We are delivering on the Jetty Road Masterplan which provides a long-term vision for Jetty Road while reinforcing the precinct’s status as Adelaide’s premier seaside destination.

Construction of the first stage of the masterplan was completed in 2021 with a $3.6 million upgrade of Chapel Street and Bouchee Walk. This included the creation of a new public plaza with seating, landscaping, and public art to create a new welcoming space for the community.

Planning is currently underway on the design scope for the next stage of the masterplan which focuses on Jetty Road/Colley Terrace interface with Moseley Square, between Hope Street and Moseley Street.

But we are a resident base of only 37,000 people and Jetty Road, Glenelg is a South Australian asset.

It is impossible in today’s global economy for our ratepayers to fully fund the sort of world-class upgrade that we would want, and that is deserving of the precinct, without significant investment from the rest of the state.

Our council, the City of Holdfast Bay, invests significant funds annually into maintaining the vibrancy of the precinct while supporting businesses to sustain their investment in the city.

In the last six months alone, Jetty Road, Glenelg has attracted three new national businesses, as well as six new eateries and four beauty businesses. Rosa Mexicano has chosen Glenelg as the site of their first SA restaurant due to open in the coming months.

Reno Marrasso, the co-founder of South Ave Seltzer, says the company chose Jetty Road Glenelg as the location of its new head office.

“We love the area, community, and energy,” he said.

“Jetty Road has a special place in our heart - it is where we launched into our first venue, Terra & Sol, and since then we have expanded to a bunch of other Jetty Road venues.

“We love all the stores and owners around us. We honestly wouldn't want to be based anywhere else.”

Gilia Martin, owner of Attitudes Boutique and chairperson of the Jetty Road Mainstreet Committee says the precinct is getting busier.

“Since the borders opened, we’ve had consistent foot traffic and the precinct is buzzing,” she said.

"We are back to pre-COVID numbers – both with locals and an increase in people from interstate and overseas”.

The upgrade of Jetty Road – which at 1km in length, is one of the longest and oldest in Australia – is not something that Council can do in a vacuum.

It needs business owners, landlords, and the State Government to come on board and to help elevate ‘the Bay’ to the international standard that is deserved of one of the most liveable cities in the world.