Have your say on Council’s 20-year plan for beaches, pools and playgrounds

If you’re lucky enough to call Wollongong home, you’ve probably spent a day at one of our beautiful beaches, taken a dip in one of our iconic ocean rock pools, or spent the afternoon at your favourite local playground. You might have done it all in a single day.

These places – beaches, pools, playgrounds and leisure centres – can be a place for exercise and recreation, precious time with family, a social glue for community groups, or simply a place to see the sunrise or sunset. No matter how you choose to live, work and play, Wollongong has it all.

While mother nature does a lot of the heavy lifting, managing the many beaches, pools, indoor sports venues and playgrounds in our city is a huge task, and one that requires careful planning and forethought.

Wollongong City Council currently manages more than 150 playspaces, nine ocean rock pools, eight supervised community pools, two leisure centres, and 34 patrolled and un-patrolled beaches along our coastline.

This requires a huge allocation of funds and resources to ensure these facilities and services meet the needs of our growing community, now and into the future. It’s why we’re seeking feedback on three 20-year strategies that will guide our approach to planning and management of the places and pastimes that make Wollongong such a wonderful place to live.

“Living in Wollongong we have some of the best beaches and ocean rock pools in the world on our doorstep,” Lord Mayor of Wollongong Councillor Tania Brown said.

“It’s no secret, and that’s why more and more people are choosing to make Wollongong home and to raise their families here. With that comes a greater demand on Council resources to manage, not only our pools and beaches, but our playgrounds and indoor sport and leisure facilities.

“At a time when electronic devices play an ever-increasing role in our lives, they’re vital to the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of our residents. As our population increases and our suburbs continue to evolve, we need to make sure services and facilities truly reflect what our residents need and want now, and in the years to come.

“These are obviously major strategies that will guide what we do for the next two decades, which is why we are engaging on these issues from December right through to February when people are out and enjoying these locations and services. We want to understand peoples’ experiences, ideas and suggestions to shape our approach to what is an essential offering for our community.”

Council has engaged consultants to help us gather data to inform review of the following major strategies:

• Beach Services and Surf Sports Strategy
• Playspace Strategy
• Aquatics and Indoor Sports Strategy

Surveys relating to all three strategies are currently live on Council’s website, with the data collected the first step in a comprehensive engagement process that will also include targeted consultation and stakeholder workshops in the New Year.

We want to understand your experiences, what you enjoy about our beaches, pools, playgrounds and leisure centres, what could be improved, and ways we can make them more accessible and inclusive.

Usage data compiled through consultant surveys will help inform future decisions over the next two decades, particularly in relation to aging infrastructure and facilities, to prioritise needs of the community and responsible, sustainable allocation of Council resources.

While the strategies are individual in scope and priorities, there are many synergies and links between the locations and services that are most heavily utilised over the Christmas New Year period. We want to hear from you while you are out and about enjoying them.

Surveys are live on our website, and we’ve extended the survey period through to February 2026 so everyone can have their say, take the time to consider their responses, and complete the surveys in full.

In addition to the surveys, both our consultants and engagement team will host a number of in-person opportunities for people to share their thoughts, including targeted workshops and pop-ups, as well as information sessions for organisations and user groups.

To get involved, head over to Council’s engagement website to complete the surveys