FAQ

The Village and Foreshore Upgrade programs were identified in the Crescent Head Master Plan adopted by Council in 2017. The Master Plan was subject to extensive public engagement and the two projects were identified by the community as  priorities.

The Crescent Head Public Domain Project was framed by nine (9) project principles born out of the design workshops, engagement with Council stakeholders, site analysis and assessments. These formed the criteria and structure that guided the projects development. They are:

• Principle 1 – Natural Environment - The natural environment of Crescent Head should remain the primary experience of the place- it is the cultural, economic and aesthetic life blood of Crescent Head
• Principle 2 – Culture and History - The culture and history of the place should be legible into the future
• Principle 3 – It is a Village - Ensure proposals are in keeping with village scale and village atmosphere
• Principle 4 - Access and Mobility - Improving access and mobility across the village centre and foreshore to improve resident and visitor experience and safety
• Principle 5 – Traffic and Parking - Manage traffic flow and rationalise parking to improve safety and public domain amenity
• Principle 6 – Public Space Amenity - Provide public domain and space outcomes that allow for casual social connection
• Principle 7 – Economic Viability - Allow natural beauty and functional public domain to enhance economic viability and resilience
• Principle 8 – Low Key Atmosphere - Any proposals should at all times seek to maintain a low key 'make-do' atmosphere as a defining characteristic of place
• Principle 9 – Future Proofing - Ensure the place is fit for the future-both social and environmental- whilst retaining the essence of what makes it special 

The community was involved in the development of the current Crescent Head Masterplan (2017) through a series of conversations and engagement workshops. 

Late in 2019 Council commenced a program of engagement with the Crescent Head community to gather themes and aspirations in relation to the “Your Future Growth and Character statements” and “Your Future Community Infrastructure Strategic Plan”. A information session was held at the Crescent Head Bowling Club and this was followed by a workshop for Years 5 and 6 students from the Primary school and the Council Community catchup. 

Community feedback from these sessions informed the plans and strategies mentioned above and themes and community aspirations were fed into the Masterplan concepts. For example protecting and preserving the natural environment, preserving the character of Crescent Head, improving safety and accessibility and consolidating green spaces to improve usage and flow on the foreshore.  

From here it was determined that a dedicated co-design workshop would be held with residents from Crescent Head. This full day design workshop was conducted in November 2019 with people who had expressed an interest in being involved. 

The designs provide for an expanded playground area and improved larger skate facility at the foreshore. 

Years 5 and 6 students at Crescent Head Public School provided valuable insights as to what they would like to see in their community as part of the engagement in 2019. These have been incorporated where possible into the final designs

Key issues addressed during the community design process included:

• Despoliation of Little Nobby through inappropriate and over use
• Pedestrian safety concerns around the village and foreshore car parking and vehicle circulation arrangements)
• Traffic congestion at foreshore and village at peak times
• Deteriorating public open space infrastructure and facilities in the village area and along the foreshore
• Little Nobby requiring immediate attention to mitigate the ever increasing impacts of over use
• Ensuring the landscape character of Little Nobby is not ruined by any mitigation works- no trees and dense vegetation, keep it as much as possible as a grassy headland
• Boardwalk and viewing platform on Little Nobby
• Ensuring here is acknowledgement of local Indigenous culture- interpretation and education elements should be incorporated in future foreshore works
• Ensuring that the natural environment and culture of environmental appreciation is respected in future works
• Retain foreshore car parking as is
• Remove car parking from foreshore- widen public space
• Provide a ‘drop-off’ zone close to foreshore / beach access
•  Pedestrian safety in foreshore reserve- confusing pedestrian access, large areas and multiple routes for cars, vehicular speeds
• Prioritise people over cars
• Holiday Park access- results in congestion through the village centre
• The importance of Willow Street park as flat open space
• Improve the existing skate park
• Retain boat ramp access to Killick Creek
• Perceived ‘privatisation’ of the Killick Creek foreshore path by Holiday Park customers and some private property- public access along the creek foreshore should be reinforced and prioritised
• Retaining vehicular access and parking on the foreshore as an important part of the culture of Crescent Head
• Improve creek access in Willow Street park- potential for accessible ramp
• Consider an overflow car parking area (and park and ride) on the edge of the village in peak times (reducing congestion in the village centre)
• Provide more seating and shade along foreshore
• Stabilise rocks along foreshore edge- erosion control required in many areas
• Provide a deck / shelter at the SLSC for sun and rain shelter 
• Respect and celebrate our beautiful coastal village
• Improving pedestrian and bike circulation paths
• Pedestrian safety and accessibility in the village centre- vehicular speeds, poor quality circulation paths
• Reserve Road- pedestrian safety and amenity, vehicular speeds, congested space
• Retaining the low key village vibe of paramount importance
• Improve amenity in the village centre- better footpaths and more planting
• Improve Lloyd Park
• Consider relocating Lloyd Park bus stop- make it more accessible
• Manage business waste so Lloyd Park does not have so many commercial waste bins
• Shared Zone on Main Street in front of Bakery
• Expand footpath along Rankine Street for more space outside cafes and shops
• Consider a viewing deck at Big Nobby- manage vegetation at Big Nobby to ensure views aren’t los

The Masterplan (CHAMP) is an overarching document that gives the framework for developing programs and detailed plans such as the Domain Project which address the key issues of invigorating the local economy, providing improved public spaces, protecting and conserving public lands and ensuring appropriate development practices. The Masterplan does not contain specific design details or recommendations on parking numbers. 

The community feedback during development of the CHAMP identified improving parking and traffic flow as a priority. The program of work that came out of the CHAMP included the Crescent Head Traffic Management and Parking Study, which has been completed as part of the Domain Project and is available on Your Say Macleay.  This Study helped determine requirements for the public space designs and is available in the document library on this page 

Part of the design program involved the preparation of Traffic and Parking Study which made a series of recommendations to improve traffic circulation, ease congestion at peak times, upgrade parking facilities and provide safer pedestrian environments. 

This has resulted in a major realignment of the foreshore parking area providing for improvements in the access, circulation and parking of vehicles, including larger tow vehicles with trailers and caravans, and motorhomes requiring access to the Holiday Park. There are three options proposed for feedback in the survey

In the Village, new angle parking is provided on Main Street at Lloyd Park and improved safer parallel parking along Rankine Street.

The Crescent Head Traffic Management and Parking Plan, that is available on Your Say Macleay, was undertaken in 2019 and used to inform these foreshore layout plans. This Traffic Study looked at issues of safety, overflow parking and the significant number of informal unmarked parking spaces in the foreshore area, including Willow Street. 

The layout plans have sought to find a balance between the traffic and safety issues, parking demands and the identified need for improved connectivity within the recreational space. 

The figure of 110 existing car spaces refers to the number of formal, marked hardstand parking spots that exist, which have been calculated based on existing plans and aerial photography, as well as an on-the-ground physical count. After recent public queries, staff have returned and recounted the number of formal spaces and confirmed that figure of 110.

While the informal spaces have not been depicted in the parks shown in the foreshore layout plans, it is a relevant consideration when looking at car parking for Crescent Head. 

Engaging the community on the foreshore layout plans and assessing the submissions will help Council understand community priorities in order to finalise a plan that achieves a reasonable balance between parking and recreation space. 

Yes.  The number of formal parking spaces for trailer parking are increased slightly in each car park option compared to existing numbers

The plans provide three options for community feedback for parking on the foreshore 

Yes. Life guards and emergency vehicles will have allocated parking at the rear of the surf club doors adjacent to the proposed trailer parking . New regulatory signage would be provided

The Holiday Park will be managed as a separate project and in line with a defined Plan of Management 

The foreshore area and the Holiday Park are all part of the same Crown Reserve. The management of the Reserve is governed by the Crown Lands Act and under that Act the Reserve has two defined purposes, which are Public Recreation and Resting Place. The Resting Place purpose is consistent with operating a Holiday Park. 

The Public Domain Project addresses issues 4-8 and 16-18 as outlined on page 15 of the Crescent Head Area Masterplan. To get achievable designs addressing these issues Council determined that the Holiday Park part of the reserve was out of scope. 

This simplified the brief to the community co-design workshop participants who helped develop the plans, means staged works can be more affordable and doesn’t require a total re-evaluation of the business model for the Holiday Park, which is a potential source of funding to upgrade Crown Reserve public space.  

This determination of scope doesn’t prevent consideration of options that use the Reserve differently but issues of complexity to deliver and the potential for lost revenue from the Holiday Park would be considered as part of the overall evaluation. 

The current Holiday Park Management Agreement is in place until 2027, which also means no boundary alterations could be considered before then and that might result in missing out on possible opportunities to improve any of the foreshore spaces. 

The whole Crown Reserve area is subject to the Crown Lands Management Act and that Act now requires Council to complete a Plan of Management (POM) for every piece of Crown Land that Council looks after. 

The POM was identified as an action in the Crescent Head Area Masterplan (CHAMP) and work on that project will commence shortly. The POM will document how each section of the reserve is used and the considerable community engagement that has gone into the CHAMP and this Public Domain project will help inform the POM. Any foreshore plans that are adopted prior to the POM being drafted will be incorporated into that overall plan.

Guidelines for developing the POM encourage consideration of income producing avenues, for Reserves to help generate funding for improvements and maintenance. This is an issue affecting all Crown Reserves, not just Crescent Head or our Shire. Council’s Holiday Parks provide an income producing avenue and fund maintenance, improvements and support for operational expenses such as Lifeguard services. 

Council has recently adopted a formal Community Engagement Strategy and will continue to conduct detailed community engagement for development of the Management Plans for Crown Land, upgrades to Holiday Parks and other significant infrastructure projects. 

Yes. Use of the public boat ramp remains.

Yes within the current existing location

Council remind the community that while it’s great that people are engaged with the designs and having multiple conversations using other forms of technology to share opinions, formal submissions regarding the Public Domain Project must be made in writing either by:

• Completing the online submission form on yoursay.macleay.nsw.gov.au 
• Filling in the surveys specifically related to the village or foreshore designs
• Sending in a written submission addressed to the General Manager 

Making a submission through these methods will ensure your opinions are part of the evaluation completed before any recommendations are made to Council. 

The submissions received will be compiled, evaluated and consistent themes or issues will be reviewed and addressed by the project team. This review stage may result in changes being made to the plans which could mean additional engagement and clarification. 

A report will be written that includes an overview of the engagement, all the submissions, responses to issues and ideas raised and a final recommendation. It will be up to the Councillors at that point to make a final decision on preferred designs. 

Once Council have adopted final designs for the Public Domain Project including foreshore and village upgrades, detailed ‘shovel ready’ designs will be prepared that allow us to stage the works as funding becomes available.

Funding may come from existing Council budgets, the Environmental Levy already in place and through State and Federal government grants. 

Adopting plans also helps to quantify the level of investment into the Crown Reserves that could be provided through Council’s commercial business operations such as the Holiday Parks. 

Council are actively seeking grant funding to support these works and aim to progress the first stages as soon as possible. Completion of the Public Domain project will greatly assist seeking such funding opportunities.