Development Consultation Forum continues to be a success

Yesterday’s Development Consultation Forum at the Cessnock Performing Arts Centre was a milestone for Cessnock City Council marking the tenth forum hosted by Council.  

Cessnock City Mayor, Councillor Bob Pynsent thanked attendees for their continued support of these forums and emphasised the importance of providing Council with feedback.  

“We’ve had nearly 400 attendees come to our forums since the inception of this initiative. These forums are a great opportunity to have an open dialogue and build on collaboration.”   

The forum featured a presentation from the NSW Department of Planning and Environment’s Michael Luchitti on the Low Rise Medium Density Code and the new Greenfield Housing Code.  

Attendees also got an update on ‘Easy to do business’ off Blake Leeson from Service NSW. Council partnered with Service NSW to promote the online platform that offers a free service to business.  

Council’s Acting Strategic Planning Manager, Keren Brown provided an update on Council’s strategic land use planning program and Council’s Infrastructure Manager, Katrina Kerr gave an update on Council’s infrastructure program and the traffic committee program.  

One thing was clear, healthy growth continues in the Cessnock Local Government Area (LGA). The population has increased and is nearing 58,000 with a growth rate of about 1.6% each year.   The LGA’s total development value for the 2017/18 year to date in May was over $313 Million, up from $100 Million only five years ago. The data form the ABS does not yet include the data from June 2018.Council expects the figure to increase, another healthy indicator of the growth the LGA is experiencing  

Those interested in attending a future forum should contact Council’s Planning and Environment Team on 4993 4100.