Tuesday, February 18, 2025

$5m park transformation celebrated at Coffs Harbour

City of Coffs Harbour Council has celebrated the official opening of Brelsford Park following a close to $5 million upgrade.

Mayor, Nikki Williams joined with Member for Coffs Harbour, Gurmesh Singh and Member for Cowper, Pat Conaghan to cut the ribbon at the official opening today.

The multi-million dollar upgrade has delivered a leafy sanctuary in the heart of Coffs Harbour. 

“All of the great cities of the world have a signature CBD open green space,” said Mayor Williams. 

“The project has delivered two live performance amphitheatres, a new public amenities block, picnic settings and shelters, lighting and a large signature entranceway. 

“The enhancements include more than one kilometre of wide concrete pathways making it easy to move around this fantastic inner-city oasis. 

“To offset the built environment, statement trees have been retained and nearly 100 new ones have been planted along with more than 3000 shrubs and groundcovers,” the Mayor said.

The Brelsford Park project is jointly funded by Council and the NSW and Federal Governments under the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund.

Mayor Williams said Brelsford 2.0 would be a place for families to play, for picnics, for live music, for walkers and joggers, and for youngsters to learn to ride a bike. 

“It’s a restful space for downtown workers to enjoy lunch, and for people to browse a good book in the shade or catch-up on their social feed,” she said. 

“Welcome to Better Brelsford – where memories are made. It’s truly now a park fit for the times and one which will meet the needs of our growing community.” 

“Brelsford Park has always been something of a hub for the community in its various guises across the years – albeit as a largely open space, underdeveloped site,” said Council Infrastructure Director, Andrew Beswick.

“This project has taken the precinct next level – with the enhancements improving both the aesthetics and the utility of the area for the community.” 

Local State and Federal MPs, Gurmesh Singh and Pat Conaghan, also spoke at the opening and were full of praise for a project led by the Council and main contractor, the Van Mal Group. 

“I commend City of Coffs Harbour on this impressive upgrade which has created a lively and inclusive place where community wellbeing, culture and leisure come alive,” said Mr Singh. 

Mr Conaghan said the tranquility of the park on the doorstep of the central commercial centre struck a chord. 

“It’s such a beautiful place to come. It’s taxpayers’ money being spent responsibly,” he said.

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