Detailed planning for Wyong and Tuggerah is well underway and Central Coast Council is calling on community involvement to help shape the 10-year Wyong District Place Plan.
The Plan will be the first of its kind for the Central Coast and Council is aiming to have a community-led approach, and working together with key stakeholders, to guide its decision making and planning in relation to land use, placemaking, events and activities, infrastructure, general projects and works.
Located at the heart of the Central Coast, Wyong and Tuggerah are strategically located as a gateway to the region, providing access to urban, rural and coastal communities, as well as convenient road and rail connections to Sydney, Newcastle and beyond.
The area covered by the District Place Plan is bounded by Wyong, Tuggerah, Watanobbi, Mardi, Chittaway Point, Tacoma South, Tacoma, Rocky Point and Tuggerawong – suburbs that share natural, economic, built environment and social similarities.
This collection of suburbs serves a significant social, cultural, sporting, recreation and community role for the region, together with its housing opportunities surrounded by an attractive environment and sensitive ecosystems such as the Wyong River and floodplain, wetlands, creeks and green hills. Council’s Director of Environment and Planning, Alice Howe said the community had an important part to play during this consultation period.
She said the District Place Plan was being developed at an opportune time as forecast population trends suggested that Wyong was set to experience significant growth over the next decade, with Transport for NSW also planning to upgrade the Pacific Highway at Wyong.
“With the release of the Central Coast Regional Plan and draft Central Coast Transport Plan, there is now a need to understand how the strategic direction from the NSW Government can be translated into local action,” Dr Howe said.
“This Place Plan aims to clearly articulate how those strategies will be delivered on the ground in the Wyong District.
“We’ve engaged urban planners JOC Consulting, to lead the project with the aim to deliver a draft Place Plan for Wyong District, with public exhibition and further public consultation later this year,” Dr Howe said.
Council Administrator Rik Hart said this new approach to planning would be beneficial for the community as the area continued to transform and grow.
“We’ve identified this project as an opportunity to develop a bottom-up approach to help guide private and public decision-making,” he said.
“I would encourage the community to participate throughout the engagement process because ideas and feedback from the community will help shape the Place Plan and drive its priorities well into the future,” Hart said.
The end result will be a graphic and easy-to-read document that can be picked-up by anyone wanting to get a glimpse of community aspirations and strategic planning priorities in the Wyong and Tuggerah town centres and surrounding areas.
Community members can share their thoughts, ideas and feedback until Friday, March 10, by participating in the online survey at https://www.yourvoiceourcoast.com/WyongDPP and joining the conversation on Council’s interactive map of the district.
Sue Murray