Friday fast five: decisions from the Council meeting you may have missed
There are many ways we will reach out to people about Council projects, but one way you can get involved in the decision-making process today is by visiting the Our Wollongong website
Wollongong City Council media release: 4 August 2023
We get it. You had better things to do on Monday 31 July instead of watching the Wollongong City Council Meeting — the Matildas’ glorious 4-0 win over Canada was likely your top priority.
Last Monday’s Council meeting was a bumper of a meeting with 22 items on the agenda. Despite this, all items were endorsed unanimously, although there was some lively discussion.
If you haven’t got time to watch the recorded meeting (you can access it here) or read the minutes, we’ve pulled out five Council decisions that may interest you.
1. North Beach State Heritage Precinct
Heritage NSW and the NSW Heritage Council Listing Committee are currently considering expanding the area around the North Beach State Heritage Precinct to include the newly upgraded North Beach Surf Life Saving Club building.
While there are both implications and opportunities for this proposal, we feel that there relevant protections are already in place through the local heritage listing in the Wollongong Local Environmental Plan 2009. Council has also well and truly demonstrated our commitment to the restoration and protection of the building. Council will send a submission that shares our position that we do not support the expansion of the North Beach State Heritage Precinct.
2. We’re improving how we engage with our community
Council endorsed a number of policies; two important ones were the Community Engagement Strategy Council Policy and Community Participation Plan. These documents guide how we reach out and encourage you, the community, to talk with us. The Community Participation Plan specifically looks at how we inform and engage our community about planning and development matters.
There are many ways we will reach out to people about Council projects, but one way you can get involved in the decision-making process today is by visiting the Our Wollongong website.
3. Plan for affordable housing in Port Kembla
We’ll soon be seeking your feedback on the draft Planning Agreement for an affordable housing outcome for a section of land at the former Port Kembla Public School.
The proposal seeks to facilitate previous resolutions of Council to incorporate affordable housing as a component of the development. Based on the likely development outcomes this means 5% of the 110 planned dwellings will be set aside for affordable housing.
We’ll share more information with the Port Kembla community soon about this project.
4. $5 million to go towards affordable housing
We’re giving not-for-profit local organisation Head Start Homes $5million to run an affordable rental housing and pathway to home ownership program. This innovative program will help address the critical need for affordable homeownership in the Wollongong region.
This new injection of funding will complement the previous funding Council provided Head Start Homes last year during the Round 2 tender process where they were awarded $1.3M, and a tender to the value of $4.34M that was awarded to the Illawarra Housing Trust in 2019.
5. Save the date for future Council meetings
Council meetings are where we make all the important and exciting decisions on how we do our do. We’ve endorsed the next cycle of Council meetings for 2024. Now’s the time to save the dates in your calendar so you can stay in the loop on what’s happening in your city.
