Help us plan the future of Wollongong

Each year we set out the plans and focus areas for the year ahead by asking our residents what they want to see happen in their community.

This year’s a bit different, as not only are we seeking feedback on the draft Delivery Program 2022-2026, and draft Operational Plan 2022-2023, we’re also in the final stage of our engagement on the draft Our Wollongong Our Future 2032 Community Strategic Plan.

The Community Strategic Plan may sound a bit familiar to some people and that’s because you may have previously responded to a postcard mailout or participated in other engagements last year that asked you for feedback on what you love about Wollongong and why. We listened to what you said and used your feedback to create the draft Plan. Now we’re checking back in to make sure we’re still on the same page.

At tonight’s Council meeting all three strategic documents were endorsed by Council for public exhibition as part of a suite of planning documents to guide our work. From 4 May we’ll be asking the community to share your thoughts on these important plans and programs.

“Everyone in our community should take an interest in these Council documents, as they’re no ordinary plans,” Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery AM said.

“These documents outline Council’s priorities for the next year, four years and ten years. It’s here that we outline what our focus is, what’s important to our community, and what we hope to achieve as a city into the future. It’s also where you’ll see details of the services Council delivers, as well as what we’ll be doing to get the best out of our libraries, our community centres, and our public outdoor spaces in the year ahead.

“I highly encourage everyone to read these documents and get familiar with the projects that are happening on your behalf in the years ahead. Now’s the chance to have a say on what our plans are, what money we’re planning to spend and how we plan to make Wollongong a better city for everyone.”

Here's the trick on understanding the difference between all the key documents:

• draft Our Wollongong Our Future 2032 Community Strategic Plan – an aspirational document that tells us what’s important to our community and shares a vision and goals for our city for the next 10 years.
• draft Delivery Program 2022-2026 – explains the work we’ll be doing for the next four years to achieve the goals in our Community Strategic Plan.
• draft Operational Plan 2022-2023 – looks at exactly where and how we plan to spend money over the next year. It breaks down what we plan to do and what projects you can expect to see happening next year. This includes the roads we’ll be upgrading, footpaths we’ll be building and new playgrounds to be installed.
• draft Our Resourcing Strategy 2032 – shows how Council will manage and allocate resources (finances, assets, people, information management and technology) to carry out the Delivery Program.
• draft Infrastructure Delivery Program 2022-2023-2025-2026 – includes a list of capital projects that will be delivered, future infrastructure required to deliver Council’s services and the annual budget allocation for infrastructure operations and maintenance.

“This is an exciting time at Council as there are plenty of important projects being discussed in these plans like continued work on the community centres and library facilities in Warrawong and Helensburgh, the stage 2 upgrade and refurbishment of the North Wollongong Surf Club and Seawall, and ongoing delivery of the Unanderra Criterium Track,” Cr Bradbery said.

“These plans also show our focus on the environment, with $25M investment over the next four years in floodplain risk management and stormwater management to better prepare our communities for challenging weather events, like what we’ve recently experienced. We’re also continuing to prioritise the greening of our communities by investing in trees in public spaces, as well as committing to a big focus on the amenity and beauty of our city.”

“Looking at these plans you can see exactly where the 96 new and renewed footpaths across the city are mapped, as well as much-anticipated projects including the design and delivery of skating facilities in the Wollongong City and northern suburbs.”

The $407M capital budget programs covers over 700 projects. Key areas of focus are on safety around schools, accessibility improvements and ongoing investment in West Dapto.

“We’re expecting West Dapto to grow to accommodate 19,500 total housing lots and require 8,500 jobs over the next 30 years. Council is proud to continue to support this growing community by planning for new roads, bridges and traffic facilities which are required to sustain this changing community,” Cr Bradbery said.

“Active transport remains a key focus for Council, especially as we look ahead to the 2022 UCI Road World Championships which are set to take place this September. Our commitment as a UCI Bike City is a core priority, and we’ll continue to invest in cycling infrastructure to support everyone, regardless of their ability, to ride a bike.”

To support the delivery of Council’s annual program and maintain financial sustainability, Council has proposed a rates increase of 1.8%, which will require approval from the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART). This will equate to around $24 for the average residential rate.

Domestic waste charges for a 120-litre landfill (red-lidded) bin is proposed to increase by $4.60 a year. We’re proposing that most other fees and charges increase by 2%.

“Rates are an important source of income as we use this money to provide Council services, support new assets and pay for the maintenance of existing assets used by our community,” Cr Bradbery said.

For more information, visit the Our Wollongong website.