A stop-gap measure, is how administrator Rik Hart described a Central Coast Council plan to help secure heritage grant funding for heritage conservation across the region.
The Central Coast Heritage Gap Analysis and Action Plan will inform Council’s approach to heritage while it develops a Central Coast Heritage Strategy.
Council currently has no overarching heritage strategy.
The gap analysis recommended Council undertake a new heritage study within the next 12 months. Council has planned for it to commence in the 2023-2024 financial year, still more than 12 months away.
Council was first briefed on a proposed framework for heritage strategic planning in September 2018.
A company was appointed to prepare the plan in May 2020 and the draft plan was presented to Council’s Heritage and Culture Advisory Committee on June 23, 2021.
It finally arrived at a council meeting for endorsement on April 26, 2022.
The Strategy will outline the direction of the heritage program for the next 10 years.
The report noted rapid growth of the Central Coast’s population in the next decade will require a re-valuation of land use.
“Planning controls are a key part of protecting the heritage values of the Central Coast during this time of change,” the report said.
The study said Council does not currently have an overarching heritage strategy on the Central Coast.
There is no contemporary history of the Aboriginal community apart from previous studies done by former Wyong and Gosford Councils.
Histories done by the former councils focus on the large regional centres, with little or no consistent detail of the smaller suburban areas.
“Now [the Central Coast Heritage Gap Analysis and Action Plan] has been endorsed, we can use it to help with grant applications within the Plan; to help source and secure heritage grant funding over the coming years until the final Strategy is completed,” Council Administrator, Rik Hart, said.
The report said Council would hold targeted discussions with heritage-focused community groups, Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council and other Aboriginal stakeholder groups, and relevant agencies such as the NSW Department of Planning and Environment, Heritage NSW, National Parks and Wildlife Service, and Transport for NSW.
“Broader community consultation will also occur as part of the development and public exhibition of the Strategy,” Council said.
Council said the plan acknowledges Council’s commitment to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage.
“It notes Council has important heritage measures and essential foundations in place for heritage management; however, additional initiatives are necessary to achieve consistency across the LGA and respond to the changing development context, demography, and community expectations of the Central Coast,” Council said.
Key tasks recommended in the plan included the preparation of a new Thematic History that reflects the course and pattern of development of the amalgamated Central Coast area over time, including Aboriginal history, and local themes relevant to contemporary communities.
It also recommended the preparation of an Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Study – to describe different Aboriginal cultural landscapes, update data on Aboriginal sites, recognise Aboriginal cultural values beyond place-based values and identify mechanisms for ongoing consultation and collaboration with Aboriginal people about their local heritage.
Council would also prepare an Archaeological Heritage Study to identify areas of potential archaeological significance and their current condition, and update inventory sheets and management actions accordingly.
It would identify opportunities for telling important local stories and celebrating local heritage of the LGA and review and update its Heritage Inventory Sheets to conform with the standard State Heritage Inventory database template and address gaps including lack of detail and outdated photographs.
The plan recommended a review of Council’s internal heritage management procedures to ensure continuous improvement of internal heritage management procedures, regular reviews and training of staff.
The Central Coast Heritage Gap Analysis and Action Plan was put together by GML Heritage Pty Ltd and was partially funded by a Heritage NSW Community Grant.
Merilyn Vale