In a first for ailing Australian high streets, celebrity clout and technologically driven spending research have come together to drive change in the inner-west Sydney suburb.

A group of Balmain and Rozelle residents and leaders including actor Bryan Brown, filmmaker Rachel Ward, Harris Farm Markets' David Harris and Carnival chief executive Ann Sherry are part of an effort to breathe new life into the peninsula suburb and shore up its future in the face of the government-sponsored development of nearby White Bay.

Locals have bemoaned and attempted to halt the demise of the Darling Street retail and dining strip in recent years, with its vacant shopfronts, declining footfall and few business newcomers on the main road. Facing the combined pressures of online shopping, mega malls, an ageing demographic and high rents, Darling Street is not alone – Paddington's Oxford Street, Leichhardt's Norton Street and hundreds of high streets across Australia have suffered similar declines.

But while Leichhardt council has attempted to draw shoppers with limited free parking and last year spent $500,000 on initiatives to boost local business, leaders of a new lobbying effort – the Peninsula Partnership – say more permanent solutions are needed.

"We're not going to whinge anymore. You've got to get involved and shape it," said Christopher Brown, Balmain resident and founder of the Taylor Street Advisory, which has been commissioned by the council to create a plan for the peninsula, resulting in the Partnership.

"This is the home of artists and poets, how do we activate that?"

Besides tapping into the area's creativity, the group, which also includes a church minister, head teacher and national newspaper editor, has in its armoury a tool more commonly favoured by the very shopping malls that have been blamed for high street decline.

Westfield's former national research manager, Taylor Street Advisory director Jessica Commins, is spearheading analysis of spending patterns in the Darling Street area. It is believed to be the first time analysis of electronic transactions has been applied to a high street setting in Australia.

The figures paint a picture of opportunity – and a wealthy population that pours over a fifth of its retail spend into local businesses. They spend well above average on specialty foods and more than 50 per cent more than the Sydney average on clothing each year. But most startling is the 24,138 locals' love of a drink.

Balmainians spend $700 a head, over 3.6 times the Sydney average, in bars and pubs each year – the vast majority of it in the 22 bars and pubs for which the area is well known.

"We have more pubs per square metre than just about any suburb in Australia," said Leichhardt mayor and host of the Partnership, Darcy Byrne.

"Hoteliers need to come together and collaborate" to tap into their potential as drawcards to the area, he said.

The data also points to under-performing businesses, such as Darling Street's Woolworths supermarket, which will be encouraged to compete more and tailor its offerings to the market.

Other proposals include an arts-based "Balmain Festival", possibly curated by Bryan Brown, a "Barefoot & Silent" film festival and a spice market. A special planning forum is hoped to address regulatory and vacancy issues.

"We're taking a long-term view, instead of just patching it up," said Stem boutique's Kate Moriarty, who points to the opportunities and threats posed by the White Bay and Rozelle Village developments.

"We've got some big challenges coming up. We need a thriving strip going into all of that."

Her words echo those of those of Christopher Brown.

"Everyone in the partnership agreed that White Bay will either be the making of us or the end of us."