We are pleased to advise that Towards 2040 came into effect on the 26 March 2020. Towards 2040 was made by the Chief Executive Officer under delegated authority based on Council’s resolution 25 February 2020 and a letter of support from the Greater Sydney Commission (GSC) for consistency with the Greater Sydney Region Plan and North District Plan.

Since presented to Council 25 February 2020, Towards 2040 has been updated to address Council’s resolution and comments from the GSC Assurance Panel. This included changes to further address demographics and the aging population and safeguarding employment lands from residential and mixed-use developments. The map shading for the ‘future Metropolitan Rural Area (MRA) investigation area’ was updated and the GSC’s role in the Assurance Process was clarified.

As we implement Towards 2040, Council will continue to engage the community in Planning our Sustainable Future. This includes finalisation of the local housing strategy, employment study, social infrastructure study and environment study to inform Council’s new single planning framework including the Local Environmental Plan and Development Control Plan. Monitoring and reporting will align with Council’s Strategic Framework which includes Shape 2028 and Council’s Integrated Planning and Reporting Framework.

The following final documents are provided for reference:

1.Towards 2040 final (Note: 59MB or view online)

2.Tracked changes to draft Towards 2040 (V1 - Sep 2019) – Council Report 25 Feb 20 Attachment 2 – Revised Mar 20 (Note: 55MB)

3.Amendment summary to draft Towards 2040 (V1 - Sep 2019) – Council Report 25 Feb 20 Attachment 3 – Revised Mar 20

4.Public Submissions and responses - Council Report 25 Feb 20 Attachment 4

5.NSW Government Agency submissions and responses - Council Report 25 Feb 20 Attachment 5

6.Amendment summary to draft Towards 2040 presented to Council meeting 25 Feb 20 (V3 – Feb 2020)

At its meeting on Tuesday 25 February 2020, it was resolved that Council:

1. Notes this report and associated attachments, including the outcomes of the public exhibition process and Council’s proposed response to the feedback received.
2. Endorses Towards 2040 – Northern Beaches Local Strategic Planning Statement.
3. Refers Towards 2040 – Northern Beaches Local Strategic Planning Statement to the Greater Sydney Commission for the purpose of the assurance process.
4. Delegates authority to the Chief Executive Officer to make the Local Strategic Planning Statement upon written support being received from the Greater Sydney Commission.
5. On page 32 of the Local Strategic Planning Statement or page 33 of attachment booklet 2, insert after the words “future Multiple Rural Area (MRA) investigation area” the words “until relevant studies have been undertaken and subject to those studies.”

View the minutes of the 25 February 2020 Council meeting (Item 12.1 page 19).

Towards 2040 has now been referred to the Greater Sydney Commission (GSC) for its final approval. Upon receipt of a letter of support from the GSC, the LSPS can be made by Council.

It is a requirement of legislation that the LSPS be made by 31 March 2020.

There is a report going to Council on Tuesday 25 February seeking endorsement to submit the LSPS to the Greater Sydney Commission for approval.

• View the Council Agenda and Report (Item 12.1 page 67)
• View Towards 2040 - Local Strategic Planning Statement and report attachments

The Council Meeting will be held at 6pm at the Dee Why Civic Centre. If you would like to address Council, please complete the request to speak - public address form.

Council received and reviewed a total of 337 submissions (321 public submissions and feedback from 16 NSW Government agencies), following public exhibition process.

Council also met with the Greater Sydney Commission (GSC) and NSW Department of Planning, Infrastructure and Environment (the Department) on the 12th November 2019 for a preliminary review of Towards 2040 – the draft local strategic planning statement. A further technical health check with the GSC is scheduled on the 4th February 2020 – ahead of it being reported back to Council.

Community engagement outcomes and Council’s proposed response to the feedback received will be reported back to Council, together with the draft final Towards 2040 – local strategic planning statement, on the 25th February 2020.

Following Council’s endorsement of Towards 2040, it will be submitted to the GSC for its final approval. Upon receipt of a letter of support from the GSC, the LSPS can be made by Council.

Public exhibition of the draft Statement closed on the 10th of November and we received over 320 public submissions, all of which are being reviewed and considered. A community consultation report is being prepared and will accompany the report back to Council on the draft Statement public exhibition.

Council has also recently met with the Greater Sydney Commission (GSC) and NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) for a preliminary review of the draft Statement, an important step in the GSC Assurance Program.

A further technical health check will be completed with the District Commissioner, GSC, DPIE and relevant agencies in early 2020 ahead of the final Towards 2040 being reported back to Council in February 2020.

Towards 2040 is the Northern Beaches Council’s first Local Strategic Planning Statement. It outlines the Northern Beaches’ direction for housing, employment, transport, recreation, environment and infrastructure over the next 20 years. It will help guide future land use decisions through planning priorities, principles and actions that build on the strengths and opportunities for the Northern Beaches as well as addressing key issues and challenges.

The requirements for local strategic planning statements are set out in Section 3.9 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. At a minimum, the local strategic planning statement must include the following:

• the basis of strategic planning in the area, having regard to economic social and environmental matters
• planning priorities for the area that are consistent with any strategic plan for the area and the applicable community strategic plan
• actions required for achieving those planning priorities
• the basis on which Council is to monitor and report on the implementation of those actions.

Amendments to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 in March 2018 require all NSW councils to prepare a local strategic planning statement. A draft local strategic planning statement is required to be placed on public exhibition by 1 October 2019.

Towards 2040 will inform decisions about strategic land use planning including the assessment of planning proposals to rezone land and the preparation of Council’s new Local Environmental Plan (LEP) and Development Control Plan (DCP). It will also inform broader policies and strategies, such as Council’s local housing strategy.

Together, these documents will provide a comprehensive and consistent planning framework.

Towards 2040 builds on the strategic directions set out in the Greater Sydney Commission’s Greater Sydney Region Plan – A Metropolis of Three Cities (region plan) and the North District Plan (district plan). It also builds on Council’s community strategic plan, Shape 2028.

Towards 2040 was developed through a comprehensive community engagement program which included:

• a review of community engagement outcomes across 47 Northern Beaches Council projects between 2016 and 2019
• an analysis of Placescore town centre insights of over 3,198 survey responses
• a community preferences survey (172 responses) and a draft priority testing survey (245 responses)
• a community workshop with over 40 attendees
• seven focus groups with 51 participants.

• Demographic analysis
• Local housing strategy
• Employment study
• Environment study
• Social infrastructure study

The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 requires councils to review and update their local strategic planning statement at least every seven years. However, Council can choose to update the document more often.

You can 'follow' the Your Say page to receive updates on the progress of Towards 2040 and information on community engagement activities as they happen.

Towards 2040 is on public exhibition until 10 November 2019. You can make a submission on the Your Say page, via mail (PO Box 82 Manly NSW 1655 Australia) or email (council@northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au).

We will review all submissions and report the outcomes to Council for consideration.

All NSW councils are required to have the final local strategic planning statement endorsed by the Greater Sydney Commission and made by Council by 31 March 2020.

A Local Environmental Plan (LEP) is the main tool used to control development of land in a local government area.

It does this through land use zoning and development controls, which provide a framework for the way land can be used.

An LEP is prepared by Council but must be approved by the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment.

Council is currently preparing a new LEP for the Northern Beaches LGA.

A Development Control Plan (DCP) provides detailed local planning and design guidelines to support the planning controls in a Local Environment Plan (LEP).

The DCP includes controls for things like building design, building setbacks, landscaping, privacy, car parking, and waste management for all the different types of development.

DCP provisions are prepared by Council and approved by Council following public consultation.

Council is currently preparing a new DCP for the Northern Beaches LGA.

Currently, the Northern Beaches has four Local Environmental Plans (LEPs), Manly LEP 2013, Pittwater LEP 2014, Warringah LEP 2000 and LEP 2011), each with their own Development Control Plan (DCP).

This means that there are four different approaches to planning across the Northern Beaches. This is confusing and unsustainable in the longer term.

Changes to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 in March 2018 require all NSW Councils to review their Local Environmental Plans to give effect to the new district plans within 2-3 years (i.e. by June 2021).

A local housing strategy is a document prepared by Council to identify current and future housing needs and to establish a plan for accommodating future housing growth to meet those needs.

The Greater Sydney Commission has established short term (five year) housing targets for councils under the relevant district plan. Council is required to prepare a local housing strategy to address short term targets as well as plan for housing in the medium and longer term.

The local housing strategy provides an opportunity for Council and the community to influence how and where we will grow.

Sometimes these terms are used interchangeably. However, they are different things.

Housing affordability:

Relates to the general affordability of both rental and purchase housing on the open market, and is not limited to those on low to moderate incomes.

Affordable housing:

Affordable housing refers to homes for very low income households, low income households or moderate income households. This is often provided through a housing assistance program that provides rental dwellings for a specified level of below market rent price.

As a rule of thumb, housing is usually considered affordable if it costs less than 30% of gross household income.

The Greater Sydney Commission is the statutory body responsible for planning for the future growth of the Sydney Region.

They produced the Greater Sydney Region Plan – A Metropolis of Three Cities (region plan) and the North District Plan (district plan), with which Council’s plans must align.

The North District Plan (district plan) is the Greater Sydney Commission’s plan for the North District.

The North District covers City of Ryde, Hornsby, Hunters Hill, Ku-ring-gai, Lane Cove, Mosman, North Sydney, Willoughby and the Northern Beaches.

The NSW Government and the Greater Sydney Commission directed all NSW councils, through amendments the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, to make sure the local strategic planning statement align with the region plan and relevant district plan. This will provide a clear line-of-sight and connection between the region and district plan and what this means at the local level.

The Community Strategic Plan (CSP) is a long-term strategic plan that all NSW councils must develop on behalf of their communities in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government Act 1993. It is a shared vision of what the Northern Beaches community values and aspires to for the next ten years.

Council’s CSP ‘Shape 2028’ was adopted by Council in 2018 following extensive community consultation. It will guide and inform our decisions in developing our four year Delivery Program and annual Operational Plans that together detail the specific actions that we will take to achieve the strategies and objectives in the CSP

The local strategic planning statement is focused on land use planning; whilst the community strategic plan is focused on the direction of all of Councils functions.

Towards 2040 is consistent with Shape 2028, however, it does not duplicate the content as it is more focused on land use planning.

Council, in consultation with the community, will develop the following:

• Towards 2040 (the local strategic planning statement)
• Local Environmental Plan (LEP)
• Development Control Plan (DCP)
• Local Housing Strategy
• A range of studies and investigations

It is paramount that the decisions made as a community are supported by expert evidence.

Council is preparing the following studies:

• Demographic Analysis (complete)
• Employment Study (underway)
• Local Housing Strategy (underway)
• Social Infrastructure Study (underway)
• Environment Study (underway)
• Transport Investigations
• Local Character Study

We will also undertake more studies or investigations where required.