Council staff have been working to prepare our Local Strategic Planning Statement, Towards 2040.

The Department of Planning and Environment has granted Councils a three month extension of time to complete a draft Statement for public consultation.

Originally intended for release on 1 July 2019, Councils now have until 1 October 2019 to release a draft Statement. This gives Council more time to incorporate community feedback and initial findings from a number of technical studies undertaken. We look forward to presenting Towards 2040 for public comment in October.

Please register your interest here, if you have not already, to ensure you are informed about when the draft intends to go to Council for endorsement for public exhibition.

Thank you to everyone who has participated in the engagement activities over the past four months.

Since January we've been engaging and connecting with our community across the LGA in a conversation about planning for the future of the Northern Beaches. Thank you to everyone who has been involved for your time and effort.

So far this year:

• Over 3000 people have visited the project’s Your Say page
• Over 450 people have registered their interest in the project
• We have reached over 57,000 people via Social Media.
• We have received 417 responses to our surveys.
• Nearly 30,000 people have watched our Mayor interviewing little localsabout planning for the future
• 40 of your Strategic Reference Group members and Councillors attended a workshop to discuss challenges and desired outcomes for the future
• 51 community members across seven focus groups discussed visions for the future and provided comment on the draft Towards 2040 priorities.
• Staff have met with over 10 community stakeholder groups.
• Our project webinar has had over 800 views.

There will be more opportunities to get in involved throughout the year. To stay updated and involved in this project please register your interest here

Thank you to everyone who has completed this survey so far.

Because of the great feedback we have been receiving, this survey is extended until 5 May 2019. This will allow more members of the community to let us know their thoughts on the draft priorities.

The information collected will be used in preparing the draft of Towards 2040 before we take it to the community for comment later in the year.

Please complete our survey (closed), and encourage others to do so as well.

Over the past few months we've been engaging with our community to develop Towards 2040, our Local Strategic Planning Statement.

This has involved workshops, stakeholder meetings, community focus groups, a community views survey and an in-depth analysis of community engagement undertaken over the past 3 years.

The next step is to test the draft Towards 2040 priorities with you.

Please complete our survey (closed) to let us know your thoughts on the draft priorities. The information collected will be used in preparing the draft document before we take it to the community for comment later in the year.

The past few weeks have been busy, with the team meeting with the Greater Sydney Commission, the NSW Department of Planning, Transport for New South Wales and the NSW Department of Health to discuss Councils progress in developing Towards 2040.

Council was given some great feedback, and we're pleased to hear Towards 2040 is on the right track. We will be continuing to develop Towards 2040 with the goal of bringing the draft to the community for comment later this year.

We also met with the various consultants working on the technical studies which are informing the development of Towards 2040 and the Local Housing Strategy. It was great to workshop with them on what makes the Northern Beaches unique and our needs into the future.

Hearing the views and visions of young people for their future is always inspiring. Last night with the Youth Focus Group was no exception.

We talked in-depth about using technology in our urban environment, housing choices for all stages of life and the potential for making the Northern Beaches more liveable.

Thank you to those who came along – your time and effort is critical to planning your sustainable future.

This was the last in this series of focus groups for Towards 2040. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us to share their visions for the future of the Northern Beaches.

We will now take what we’ve learnt and continue to refine Towards 2040 before going to the community for comment in mid-2019.

Our multi-cultural community gathered on Wednesday night to talk about their visions for the future of the Northern Beaches. Each of their experiences and aspirations help to create a diverse and vibrant place for us all. Thank you to those who came along to make it a special night.

Lastly, the youth focus group will, on Thursday night, wrap up this series of focus groups.

The final of our ward focus group discussions was held on Tuesday night at North Curl Curl Community Centre. In-depth discussions, from innovative waste management and protecting our environment to the changing nature of work and future infrastructure needs, were had.

On Wednesday night our Culturally and Linguistically Diverse community members will be coming together to discuss their vision for the future of the area.

The final focus group of last week was held in Seaforth on Thursday night with a group of very passionate Manly ward locals.

It was great to hear their visions of a more connected, sustainable, vibrant Northern Beaches.

Wednesday night was spent with a group of Narrabeen residents discussing their vision for their community, and what kinds of priorities are needed to achieve those visions.

Thank you to those who came along. We learnt a lot from your input.

Tuesday night was spent in Frenchs Forest with a great group of locals sharing their visions for their area and the Northern Beaches. This is an area that has seen significant change so understanding where that takes this community into the future was a really important conversation.

A big thank you to everyone who attended. We're looking forward to the focus group on Wednesday night with the Narrabeen ward community.

Last night saw the first of seven community focus groups take place. The Pittwater Ward focus group was hosted in Avalon and was an evening of discussion about strategic issues affecting the Northern Beaches and also looked at the draft priorities of Towards 2040.

Thank you to the participants. The session generated interesting and engaging content that is invaluable for the development of the draft LSPS. Tuesday night is Frenchs Forest Wards turn.

Earlier this month Strategic Reference Group members came together for a workshop to tackle our future challenges and help identify desired outcomes.

This was a critical step in developing Towards 2040 and our Local Housing Strategy. Check out what they got up to above.

Following on from the SRG workshop, the next step is ward, youth, and culturally and linguistically diverse community focus groups. The participants have been selected this week from a pool of nearly 400 people who registered to be involved in the project. Each focus group is representative of the community and ward it represents.

The focus group sessions will explore bold visions for the future of the Northern Beaches and look at the draft priorities of Towards 2040.

So, what do our little locals want for our sustainable future? We took the question to them directly and loved their ideas.

Thank you Allambie Heights Public School.

Thank you to the SRG members who came along to share their visions for the Northern Beaches. The outcomes of the workshop will now be tested with focus groups in March.

We need your help to ensure that the new plans reflect our community so if you haven’t signed up please register your interest now.

Last week we met with the Northern Beaches Multi-Cultural Network. This is an active group of agencies working within our community. They're playing an important role in encouraging community members to register for our Culturally and Linguistically Diverse community focus group.

We also presented to the Northern Beaches Youth Advisory Group (photo above) and had very interesting discussions about changes our community faces now and into the future.

Next week members of our Strategic Reference Groups will come together for a workshop to tackle our future challenges and help identify desired outcomes. Register for the opportunity to be involved in a community focus group (to be held in late March), and / or provide preliminary feedback via an online survey (closed).

The first step of this project is our Local Strategic Planning Statement, called Towards 2040.

Towards 2040 will set our land use vision, and planning principles, priorities, and actions to achieve the priorities for the next 20 years.

As a minimum the LSPS has to contain:

• Our LGA context and background
• Land use vision
• Planning priorities
• Actions
• Implementation and monitoring

The statement will be the main way to express the desired future direction for housing, employment, transport, recreation, environment and infrastructure for the Northern Beaches LGA as a whole, and guides the content of Council’s Local Environmental Plan (LEP) and Development Control Plan (DCP).

We need your help to ensure the LSPS reflects the community. Register now for the opportunity to be involved in a community focus group and / or provide your feedback via an online survey (closed).

We realise this is a complex project, so we've created a short Webinar to make it easier to learn more. Our Executive Manager of Strategic & Place Planning, Andrew Pigott, takes you through the project and provides answers to some of the questions we've received so far.

Watch it here.

If you're yet to sign up, please register your interest to be involved… we need your help to ensure that the new plans reflect our community.

Thanks to those who have already signed up to get involved.

Have you checked out our information booklet? Get an introduction to the project and some interesting facts about our community.

If you haven’t signed up please register your interest to be involved… we need your help to ensure that the new plans reflect our community.

The Document library contains information on the process and details of the themes and regional directions set by the Greater Sydney Commission in the North District Plan.

Northern Beaches Council

• Information booklet: Northern Beaches Council information booklet that provides you with an overview of the LEP project.
• LEP Review and Health Check: First step in the project as required by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment. It reviews Council’s existing local environmental plans against the North District Plan and identifies priorities for investigation in the development of Council’s new LEP.
• Northern Beaches Council Community Strategic Plan: Our roadmap for the future of the Northern Beaches
• Move Northern Beaches: Sets Council’s policy directions for improving transport during the next 20 years.

• North District Plan: The North District Plan is the 20 year plan to manage growth and change in Sydney’s North District.
• Metropolis of Three Cities: The plan for the Greater Sydney Region to balance growth and deliver its benefits more equally and equitably across Sydney.
• Greater Sydney Commission's response to the LEP Review and guidance on the LSPS preparation

• NSW Population Futures: Presentation from the NSW Department of Planning and Environment for local governments in the Greater Sydney region.

Planning for our future is important and we want you to get involved.

There are many steps in the process and we’ll be asking you for feedback in a range of ways over the next three years as we work toward one LEP and DCP for the whole Northern Beaches.

Engagement will build on what the community told us when we developed the Community Strategic Plan and will include face-to-face and online opportunities for feedback, comment and discussion.

Please register your interest to receive project updates and stay involved.