Council welcomes feedback on draft Mt Keira Summit Park Plan of Management

We want to hear from the community about the draft Mt Keira Summit Park Plan of Management.

Council voted to ask the community for their thoughts on the draft Plan of Management at its meeting on Monday 29 October.

Feedback can be provided through Council’s online Have Your Say platform, at an onsite drop-in information session on Saturday 24 November between 10am-12 noon, or by emailing the Engagement team.

Acknowledging the significance of the site with our Aboriginal community, and in particular Aboriginal women, we will also hold a targeted workshop with members of our Aboriginal community on Wednesday 14 November from 4pm at Wollongong Library. There will also be an independently chaired public meeting on Wednesday 21 November at 6pm on Council’s Level 9 Function Room in its Burelli Street Function Room.

“This is an important document because it sets out the rules of what can and can’t happen on the summit of Mount Keira,’’ Wollongong City Acting Lord Mayor Councillor David Brown said.

“We do value hearing from our community and want to know what they think of this draft document that sets out the permissible uses and developments for the site. It’s important to note, this draft Plan sets out a framework by which future proposals can be assessed against. It’s about our community, Council and other stakeholders setting out an agreed path for the future.’’

The development of the draft Mt Keira Summit Park Plan of Management follows Council’s endorsement for a vision for the Summit Park in 2016. It covers the 9.4 hectare site at the top of Mt Keira, which is an annexe of the Wollongong Botanic Garden, and is owned and managed by Council. The slopes around the Park are managed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and form part of the Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area.

The draft Plan of Management contains a number of key elements. These include the use of CCTV, details of permissible uses and developments that are in line with the Mt Keira vision and planning principals, an Action Plan that includes a detailed Landscape Masterplan and a proposal to re-categorise a portion of community land from cultural significance to general community use to enable possible, appropriate, activities on this site.

“The Mt Keira site has two classifications and these dictate what may be permitted. For instance, the area classified as Operational Land is home to a Communications Tower that is key to many local services while the remainder of the Summit Park is classified as Community Land and contains the lookouts, kiosk, car park and bushland,’’ Cr Brown said.

“We want to hear from our community about a proposal to increase the footprint of the General Community Use sub-category that sits under Community Land from just including the previous function centre to include the kiosk and car park. We will also be working with key stakeholders to hear their thoughts on this step.’’

Today, the Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) has released a draft Mountain Bike Strategy for the Illawarra Escarpment and is seeking community feedback. The document is a joint project between National Parks and Wildlife Service and Council in response to better managing mountain bike use in the escarpment.

Feedback on this draft strategy is being collected through the OEH. Hard copies of the proposal are available in Wollongong, Corrimal and Thirroul libraries and for more information contact the National Parks and Wildlife Service on (02) 4224 4188 or by visiting their website.

We encourage the community to consider both plans and provide feedback to the relevant organisations.

To Have Your Say on the draft Mt Keira Summit Park Plan of Management visit Council’s website, come along to the onsite drop-in information stand on Saturday 24 November between 10am-12 noon, attending the public meeting on 21 November or by emailing the Engagement team. Members of our Aboriginal community can also sign up for a targeted workshop on Wednesday 14 November from 4pm at Wollongong Library. Copies of the draft Plan are available at Council’s Administration Building, our libraries or on our website.

Like Loading...