The future of the Oamaru's heritage precinct was discussed on Sunday at the Oamaru Whitestone Civic Trust's strategic community workshop.
About 60 people engaged in ''really good, animated'' discussions, Oamaru Whitestone Civic Trust (OWCT) chairwoman Kate Proctor said.
''We had a really diverse range of people - from tenants to councillors, the mayor, artisans, the [OWCT] board. It was a really good mix of people; the diversity would have covered off most viewpoints,'' Mrs Proctor said.
''It was an excellent turnout - we were really pleased.''
Up for discussion was what present and potential visitors wanted from the area and why, who those visitors were, and how big each market was.
In groups, participants also identified what cultural, social, environmental and economic benefits each use would generate - ''who it is that is going to use the services and products and things that are happening down there and what the benefits of that are,'' Mrs Proctor said.
Participants also identified what assets, services and infrastructure would ''best make the area thrive sustainably'' and the associated costs.
At the same time, they had to recognise that some businesses in the area might not always be profitable, Mrs Proctor said.
''Some ... can't always have a profitable business, but they will still fit into the precinct or the surrounding heritage area because they are attractive.''
Whether the OWCT should treat those businesses differently was also up for discussion.
Workshop facilitator Phil Driver will now put together a draft strategy.
It was important to take a collaborative approach and the meeting was an opportunity to start afresh, Mrs Proctor said.
''It was good to start from a clean slate and have everyone involved,'' she said.
''Hopefully, later on, when we do come up with a finalised strategy, everyone feels that they had buy-in into it ... I think everyone will feel like it was a transparent process and that they had an opportunity to be involved.''
Mrs Proctor, a director of Christchurch-based Smith McCoy Alford, was elected as chairwoman in April, after having been involved with the trust as a treasurer for about five years.
