Wollongong City Council has welcomed today's announcement from the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Paul Scully MP of the finalised masterplan for Warrawong Parklands.
As a key stakeholder in this space, we support the Masterplan's intention to protect and rehabilitate the estuarine and riparian vegetation as well as improve the area's recreation and amenity while promoting its cultural heritage.
"The Warrawong Parklands site is an important one for our community and has, to date, been an underutilised open space in our city,'' Lord Mayor of Wollongong Councillor Tania Brown said.
"We recognise there are significant opportunities to see this land enjoyed for recreational and social purposes and that this needs to be balanced with preserving and protecting its natural areas, vital ecosystems and its cultural significance.
"I'm looking forward to digging into the detail of this Masterplan and see how the NSW Government are looking to enhance this beautiful space into the future.''
The NSW Government sought community feedback on the draft Warrawong Parklands Masterplan from 17 September and 15 October last year.
The Parklands site covers 32ha and is on King Street Warrawong, near Lake Illawarra, and Kully Bay.
The Masterplan focused on creating a lasting, resilient and unique parkland providing recreation and leisure opportunities, while also supporting the health and wellbeing of the community, and protecting and enhancing the natural environment.
Wollongong City Council General Manager Greg Doyle said Council provided a submission to the NSW Government during the consultation phase. Our submission indicated Council's support of the document's intention to preserve the environment and recognise its cultural importance while opening the area up to increased community use.
"There is no question that there are spaces within the Parklands site that offer significant opportunities to encourage recreational and social activities,'' Mr Doyle said.
"However, there are also key challenges in this area including managing foreshore and bank erosion and sedimentation and we're keen to see the NSW Government's progression on the management of these important and challenging issues.
"We certainly welcome the launch of the Masterplan today, and look forward to Council playing a key role in the more detailed planning for projects within the Masterplan.''
Cr Brown said there were many opportunities for Council to collaborate with the NSW Government as the Masterplan moved into the implementation stage and to ensure this plan aligned with Council's strategic priorities and the future growth of the suburb and its surrounds.
"We have a series of key documents that have a direct link to this Masterplan and these include the Lake Illawarra Coastal Management program, Play Strategies, sportsfield planning and the Wollongong Transport Strategy, to name just a few,'' she said.
"Plus, we've the exciting work that is happening right now on the construction of the Southern Suburbs Community Centre and Library that's underway and very close to the parklands site.
"We've consulted with the community on the development of all these documents and have committed to our community to implement the actions within these.
"If we're able to collaborate on delivery of our priorities as the NSW Government delivers theirs, we can increase the benefit to our community across the board.''
Read the Masterplan details on the NSW Government's Planning Portal .
