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A vision for our public spaces
Council is committed to designing and delivering public spaces that enhance our community’s lives. Our streets and places of the future will allow people to connect, feel safe and achieve a sense of belonging.
We have harmonised the three former Council’s guidelines around public space and developed the draft Northern Beaches Public Space Vision and Design Guidelines.
This draft was developed with ASPECT Studios and in close consultation with our stakeholders and community.
The guidelines present a unified vision for our public spaces that also recognises the unique features, character and heritage of the diverse villages and places.
These guidelines set out to bring consistency to projects across the area driven by criteria of quality, durability and sustainability. They also support environmental, social, and health outcomes through the introduction of best practice street design and material selection.
What do you think?
At its meeting on 29 September, Council resolved to place the Northern Beaches Public Space Vision and Design Guidelines (draft) on public exhibition. We are keen to hear your thoughts.
Learn more below, download the full guidelines or check out our five-page summary.
Share your feedback today by:
- completing the submission form at the bottom of this page.
- emailing us at council@northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au.
- writing to us marked 'PSV&DG' Northern Beaches Council PO Box 82 Manly NSW 1655
Submissions closed Sunday, 1 November.
Guiding objectives
The importance of streets
Streets are more than just a place for cars and infrastructure.
Accounting for more than 30 percent of all public open space in urban areas, our streets are not only places to move through, but can also be vibrant locations to sit, relax, ponder, and play.
The guidelines seeks to balance a variety of conditions within a succinct set of street types.
Street types
Click on the top of each of the below boxes to view more detail including illustrations.
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Material palettes for our four character areas
We have developed a palette of materials for each of the four character areas – Beach, Bush, Urban and Waterfront. We will use these palettes to create and build public spaces, sharing consistency in materials while recognising the uniqueness of our places.
Beach Palette
Warm sandy tones to paving complement the coastal context.
Appropriate material selection for harsh exposed coastal environments. High quality materials in prominent areas with high visitation.
Street trees and planting that are hardy to coastal environments and reinforce the local coastal character.
Bush Palette
Warm browns and natural textures to complement the bushland environment.
Durable and low maintenance material selection for bushland locations. High quality materials for town and retail centres with high visitation.
Street trees and planting that are predominantly endemic species, reinforce local bush character and expand biodiversity.
Urban Palette
Grey tones to complement existing urban palette. Durable and sustainable materials for these high pedestrian use urban areas.
High quality materials appropriate for main employment and retail zones.
Street trees and planting that are appropriate in scale and hardiness for installation within constrained urban conditions.
Waterfront Palette
Warm sandy tones to paving complement the coastal context.
Appropriate material selection for harsh exposed coastal environments. High quality materials in prominent areas with high visitation.
Street trees and planting that are hardy to coastal environments and reinforce the local coastal character.
Characters areas map
Frequently Asked Questions
The Northern Beaches Public Space Vision and Design Guidelines will help Council and relevant stakeholders deliver well-designed public infrastructure that is both consistent and retains local character. The document replaces the three policy documents belonging to our former three councils.
These guidelines will form part of a suite of Council and engineering reference material that will have broad use. This material will help Council and developers when upgrading public spaces, ensuring that they are people-centric, safe and sustainable. The guidelines will also help residents understand future upgrades to infrastructure such as cycle path networks and water sensitive urban design.
The guidelines include objectives, which set out to meet state government targets, as well as principles that will guide Council and developers in achieving great design outcomes in public spaces.
Contact Us
Have questions or want to learn more about a project, contact us below:
| Name | Lea Lennon - Urban Designer |
|---|---|
| Phone | 1300 434 434 |
| lea.lennon@northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au |
