City of Coffs Harbour Council has announced its intention to develop a 15-year Sport and Active Recreation Strategy to guide how the organisation plans, manages, and invests in local facilities.
The Council says surveys show sport and active recreation facilities are highly valued by residents – and community input is vital as initial consultation opens to inform a draft strategy.
The draft strategy will set out the priorities for facilities and identify actions over the short, medium, and long term, with implementation to rely on a mix of Council planning, available resources, and external funding opportunities through NSW and Federal Government programs.
“This is the first step to help us discover how our sport and rec facilities might be best managed,” said City Planning and Communities Acting Director, Ian Fitzgibbon.
“Tell us what’s working well now, what could be better, and how we can best position for the future.”
The Council has engaged Otium Planning Group, national specialists in sport, recreation, and leisure planning, to assist in developing the strategy.
“Our population has moved past 80,000 and it’s going to continue to surge. That creates challenges for our infrastructure,” said Mayor, Nikki Williams.
“Also, people’s needs and wants in the sport and recreation space are evolving.
“For those reasons we need to develop – in partnership with the community – a comprehensive long-term plan on where to next.”
In addition to a community survey, Council will also run workshops with sports clubs, umbrella associations and management committees to gain insight into sporting priorities.
The draft strategy is expected to go to Council around April next year, when the elected body may resolve to put it out for public exhibition and feedback.
