Community Plans take a place-based approach that draws on the idea of participatory planning that "if you want to know how the shoe fits, ask the person who is wearing it, not the one who made it”. As part of this process, Council will work with communities to identify, promote and enhance the distinctive character of their local areas.
Community Plans help Council and community explore concepts of Place, character and liveability; identify a community’s strengths and assets; enable Council to understand the issues and priorities for each community and assess these priorities in relationship to Councils Operational Plan development; and encourage community-led place development. They aim to make a difference through developing a relationship between communities and Council, solve problems through creative thinking and identify actions to bring about improvements.
Community Planning status
| Community |
Engagement commenced |
Community-Council Action Team (C-CAT) formed |
Draft Community Plan on public exhibition |
Community Plan endorsed by Council |
| Bonny Hills |
Initial engagement at the October 2017 ECWOC meeting |
C-CAT formed and first meeting occurred in December 2018 |
Draft plan on exhibition between August and September 2019 |
Bonny Hills Community Plan5MB pdf(PDF, 5MB) endorsed at October 2019 Council meeting |
| Camden Haven |
Engagement commenced October 2018 |
Team formed and first meeting held in January 2019 |
Draft on exhibition from September to October 2019 |
Camden Haven Community Plan10MB pdf(PDF, 10MB) endorsed at the November 2019 Council meeting |
| Kew, Kendall , Herons Creek and Lorne |
Engagement commenced November 2018 |
Team formed and first team meeting held in January 2019 |
On public exhibition from September to October 2019 |
Kew, Kendall, Herons Creek and Lorne Community Plan6MB pdf(PDF, 6MB) endorsed at the November 2019 Council meeting. |
| Comboyne and Byabarra |
Initial Community workshops commenced November 2018 |
Team formed and first team meeting held in January 2019 |
On public exhibition from September to October 2019 |
Comboyne and Byabarra Community Plan7MB pdf(PDF, 7MB) endorsed at the November 2019 Council meeting. |
| North Shore |
Community Engagement commenced September 2018 |
C-Cat formed and first meeting held in November 2019 |
|
|
| Lake Cathie |
First Community Think Tank occurred in May 2019 |
C-Cat formed and first meeting held in June 2019 |
Draft Lake Cathie Community Plan is on exhibition from 21 November 2019 to 12 January 2020 |
|
| Telegraph Point |
First Community Think Tank occurred in May 2019 |
C-Cat formed and first meeting held in July 2019 |
Draft Telegraph Point Community Plan is on exhibition from 21 November 2019 to 12 January 2020 |
|
| Pappinbarrra |
First Community Think Tank occurred in July 2019 |
C-Cat formed and first meeting held in August 2019 |
On Public exhibition from October to November 2019 |
Pappinbarrra Community Plan8MB pdf(PDF, 8MB) endorsed at the December 2019 Council meeting. |
| Rollands Plains |
First Community Think Tank occurred in May 2019 |
C-Cat formed and first meeting held in October 2019 |
|
|
| Wauchope |
First Community Think Tank occurred in July 2019 |
C-Cat formed and first meeting held in August 2019 |
|
|
| Hastings Hinterland |
First Community Think Tank occurred in September 2019 |
C-Cat formed and first meeting to be held in early 2020 |
|
|
| Beechwood and Pembroke |
First Community Think Tank occurred in October 2019 |
C-Cat formed and first meeting to be held in early 2020 |
|
|
Council’s Community Plans, along with the Urban Growth Managament Strategy (UGMS) and other policies, will be critical to Council’s ability to plan for housing and job growth in new and existing communities whilst recognising and enhancing local character and ensure that the places we plan today, become the much–loved places of the future.
Local governments across NSW and Australia are increasingly embarking on a community planning process to capture the priorities a community has identified as important to their strong and sustainable future; promote sustainable communities and neighbourhoods; better align community projects and vision with government processes and vice-versa. Additionally, community planning fosters community resilience and capacity building; and enhance a community’s capacity to coordinate service delivery, maintain their spaces, and invest in revitalisation initiatives that are of importance to them.
The community planning process also reflects recent changes in the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment Act that fosters greater community participation in the planning process, particularly around how communities and urban environments might change over time. By leveraging place-based and design-led approaches, these changes seek to build on the valued characteristics of existing neighborhoods and places. They also recognise and champion the important role communities play in defining existing character and shaping a desired future character for their local area.
This page was last updated on: 16 December 2019