The City of Newcastle, the NSW Government through the Land and Property Management Authority and Hunter Surf Lifesaving all have roles and responsibilities in maintaining, using and promoting coastal assets.

In December 2008, the three parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a long term strategy for managing the coast.

The MoU partners facilitated this long term strategy for our coastline by initiating the Newcastle coastal revitalisation strategy project.

Goals of the project

• Undertake planning for the revitalistion of the Newcastle coast - Newcastle Coastal Revitalisation Masterplan Strategy
• Develop an appropriate income distribution strategy to support the financial sustainability of Newcastle coastal assets - Newcastle Coastal Reserve Trust.

The masterplan will provide a strategic framework for more detailed planning, resource allocation and decision making. It will assist with managing the coastal resources in a coordinated way and ensure the coastline meets the expectations of current and future beach users.

Preparing the final plan

Consultants Urbis were engaged to develop the masterplan for the Newcastle coast. The draft Newcastle Coastal Revitalisation Masterplan went on public exhibition for community comment during April and May 2010. Read results of the Newcastle Voice survey on coastal revitalisation.

Submissions and survey results were reviewed to complete the final Masterplan. The final Masterplan was based on analysis of existing conditions and opportunities, previous reports, community input gathered during the exhibition period and meetings with stakeholders. On the 5 October 2010 Council endorsed the final Masterplan and setup a 6 Councillor committee to oversee the implementation phase of the project.

The final Masterplan will allow Council and the NSW Government to coordinate and manage coastal assets and improvements over the next 20 years.

Funding

There are a range of potential funding sources to implement the plan including council rates, State and Federal Government grants, special rates and levies, developer contributions, commercial finance and income generation from coastal facilities. Funding will need to be investigated on a case by case basis according to priorities established in the implementation phase.

Progress updates

Council received a briefing from project officers on 13 December 2011. The briefing provided an updated on current projects and the implementation of the masterplan. Download a copy of the presentation now (111kb).