Message from the Mayor

After a great deal of community consultation and careful consideration, Council has endorsed an alternative housing solution for Ku-ring-gai.

At an extraordinary Council meeting last week, my fellow Councillors and I approved the preferred scenario for new development in the Gordon to Roseville rail corridor.

The alternative solution has several advantages compared to the NSW Government’s transport-oriented development planning controls.

It provides greater protection for heritage areas and the natural environment, improves transitions between different building heights and also incentivises revitalisation of local centres.

The preferred scenario has been submitted to the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure and we hope to have a decision from the Minister soon.

It was great to see five Ku-ring-gai citizens recognised for outstanding achievements and services to the community as they were awarded 2025 King’s Birthday Honours.

Congratulations to Mrs Roslyn Elaine Philips OAM of St Ives, for service to the community through charitable roles; Mr David Hugh Armstrong AM of Gordon, for significant service to the not-for-profit sector, the arts and the financial sector; Mrs Margaret Phillippa Middleton OAM of Lindfield, for service to the community as a volunteer; Mr John McKenzie Middleton OAM of Lindfield, for service to the community, particularly through music; and Mr Ronald Bruce York OAM of Lindfield, for service to the community of Sydney and to charitable organisations.

The Ku-ring-gai Arts and Culture Festival gets underway this week and runs until the end of July.

Warm up your winter with a wide variety of events, exhibitions, performances, film screenings and workshops. There’s something for everyone, so check out the program.

Mayor Christine Kay

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Mayor Christine Kay

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I’m a big supporter of local business and I want to ensure our local economy continues to grow, especially our night-time economy. 

Next week, I will present Mayoral Minutes to Council recommending that Council develop a Night-Time Economy Action Plan to support local businesses and make our town centres great places to visit after dark.

I will also put forward a proposal for Council to prepare a Lighting Policy to guide the use of outdoor lighting, avoid light pollution and ensure Ku-ring-gai remains a great location to view the night sky.  

Another way we continue to support our local economy is through Council sponsored events and festivals. These events help make Ku-ring-gai a great place to live and puts us on the map for tourism.

If you have a great event or festival coming up, then I encourage you to find out more about our Events and Festival Sponsorship Program and submit an application.

Last year, Council sponsored a number of great events including the Sydney Backyard Ultra, where runners tackled a 6.7km loop every hour on the hour, and the Ravenswood Women’s Art Prize, which is the highest-value professional art prize for women in Australia.

Other events and festivals to receive funding included the Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic Orchestra and the Wahroonga Food and Wine Festival, among many others. 

One exciting event that’s coming up later this year is the Ku-ring-gai Sculpture Trail.

Artists are invited to submit their entry for the 2025 Sculpture Trail, with $6000 in prizes up for grabs.

Selected artworks will be exhibited outdoors at the Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden in St Ives from 6 September to 6 October. You can find out more on our website.

Finally, I want to say a huge thank you to all of the wonderful volunteers in our community who continue to make Ku-ring-gai a great place to live. Next week is National Volunteers Week and it is a chance for us all to express our sincere thanks for the generous efforts of our volunteers. We hope you enjoy your celebrations at one of the special events Council is hosting for you next week!

Mayor Christine Kay

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Thank you to everyone who has so far had their say on our Community Strategic Plan, delivery program, budget and fees and charges for the 2025-2026 financial year.

Revitalising local centres and ensuring facilities meet the needs of Ku-ring-gai’s growing population will be a focus for the coming financial year.

There is still time to view the plans and have your say if you haven’t already. 

Next Wednesday on 7 May the Council will mark National Domestic Violence Remembrance Day with a solemn ceremony to honour those killed by violence in the home.

We will be unveiling a purple seat at St Ives Village Green and planting a purple Tibouchina tree alongside it. The colour purple as an internationally recognised symbolic colour used to honour those who have lost their lives in domestic violence.

Council is committed to raising community awareness and supporting meaningful action on this important issue. You can find out more on our website. 

The Ku-ring-gai Heritage Festival is well underway with some fascinating events and activities.

The Festival highlights the rich history of Ku-ring-gai and celebrates our Indigenous, natural, built and cultural heritage. 

I’ve had the pleasure of attending some of the Festival events already. To check out the complete program visit our website.

Have a safe and happy weekend.

Mayor Christine Kay

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Mayor Christine Kay

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This week the Council unanimously approved the public exhibition of a preferred scenario for new housing in the Gordon, Killara, Roseville and Lindfield railway station precincts.

The intent of this scenario is to better protect Ku-ring-gai’s important heritage areas and tree canopy, while also revitalising our main town centres.

The scenario incorporates your feedback received in late 2024 when we first proposed alternatives to the NSW Government’s transport-oriented development (TOD) policy.

The Council will make a final decision on submitting the scenario to the state government for approval once we have considered your views.

Please go to our website to have your say by 22 April.

I’m very pleased to announce that Ku-ring-gai now has a new waste app. It’s all part of our goal to digitise Council services wherever possible.

Your Waste is free to download from your app store and gives you the ability to get reminders about bin nights and push notifications of any unexpected interruptions to waste services.

The app has a waste calendar including special events such as free drop off chemical collections and tips on recycling.

Looking forward to hearing your feedback about the new app!

If you love Ku-ring-gai’s history and heritage then please check out all the events happening as part of the Heritage Festival during April and May.

Thanks to several community organisations, we are able to offer guided walks and talks, tours of iconic homes, an art workshop and a fashion show.

Just go to our website to find out more.

Mayor Christine Kay

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This week Council made two important decisions regarding new housing in Ku-ring-gai.

On Monday 31 March, Council will consider community feedback on the alternate housing scenarios for transport-oriented development along the rail corridor between Gordon and Roseville, as well as a preferred scenario for public exhibition. There will be a public forum before this meeting on 31 March and residents can address Councillors. If you can’t attend in person, you can attend online or send in a written submission. 

The second decision relates to the minimum lot size for dual occupancies in Ku-ring-gai. Council has voted to support a minimum lot size of 1,015 sq/m for dual occupancy developments on land zoned ‘low density residential’. Council considered feedback from the community on two minimum lot size options between January and February.

I’ll continue to keep you updated on any decision we make on 31 March.

On Sunday we will celebrate our diverse community with our very first Multicultural Festival. Between 10am and 3pm St Ives Showground will come alive with the music, dance, food and performances that reflect the countries that 40% of our residents have come from. Thank you to all the community groups and other organisations who have contributed to what is sure to be an exciting new event for Ku-ring-gai.

I hope to see you there!

Mayor Christine Kay

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Saturday 8 March is International Women’s Day. Our Council is taking some very positive steps to ensure women’s equality and contributions to our community are recognised and upheld.

Last Thursday a packed audience heard from Juanita Phillips on how she juggled the demands of being a female journalist and raising a family. We also discussed the progress being made by Ku-ring-gai’s young people in advancing respectful relationships.

I’m very proud to announce the creation of a new award for Ku-ring-gai – the Women’s Leadership and Inspiration Award. Open to women aged from 18 years, the award will recognise local women demonstrating exceptional leadership, advocacy and dedication to advancing gender equality. Nominations will open later this year.

This week the Ku-ring-gai Chamber of Commerce and the Council signed an agreement that will see a new era of cooperation between our two organisations.

I am passionate about supporting and encouraging small business in Ku-ring-gai and I’m confident that this agreement will do just that. Read more here.

Nominations are open until Friday 28 March for the Multicultural Advisory Committee. The committee gives guidance to the Council on matters affecting people from diverse cultural backgrounds living in Ku-ring-gai. If you’d like to become a voluntary member you can find out how to nominate here

And don’t forget our very first Multicultural Festival will be at St Ives Showground on Sunday 23 March between 10am and 3pm. There’ll be workshops on African drumming, the French language, Egyptian belly dancing and dancing Bollywood style, plus tasty cuisine from Peru, Hawaii, Japan, Holland, Spain, Germany, Malaysia, India and Korea.

Mayor Christine Kay

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For your interest, I have issued a statement regarding the Councillors' workshop conducted earlier this month. You can read about the outcomes of the workshop and what was discussed here.

As we move into the cooler months of autumn, there are plenty of activities and events happening across Ku-ring-gai.

During March Council is hosting or promoting 39 free and paid activities as part of its 2025 Seniors Festival. This is a great opportunity to enjoy events as diverse as river cruises, seniors ballet and artificial intelligence talks.

Meanwhile, on 23 March, we’re holding Ku-ring-gai’s first Multicultural Festival at St Ives Showground.

This event will feature music and dance performances, workshops and stalls with community information and food from around the world.

In other news, we are currently seeking feedback on our draft Green Grid Strategy, which outlines a proposed network of green and shady routes between parks and retail centres.

And I’m also excited to see that Council has published a new map showing existing and planned Council-backed electric vehicle charging locations. Between August 2024 and January 2025 Council’s EV chargers delivered 110,000 kWh of power, enough to allow a single car to drive around Australia 40 times.

Electric vehicle charging will help Ku-ring-gai Council meet its target of net zero community carbon emissions by 2040.

Mayor Christine Kay

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This month the Council is consulting the community about minimum lot sizes for dual occupancy developments in Ku-ring-gai.

The NSW Government has changed the rules on dual occupancy housing, meaning it can be built on many residential sites with some exceptions. Council is seeking feedback on two minimum lot size options which seek to manage local planning impacts. Have your say before Thursday 20 February.

I am passionate about retaining the essential workers so essential to our community, as well as providing housing for vulnerable people in Ku-ring-gai. Our draft Affordable Housing Policy outlines how Council will support new permanent affordable housing with rents aimed at people on low to moderate incomes.

The draft policy is a great step in the right direction for improving local housing affordability and I’d encourage you to give feedback by 3 March.

The Council has set up a Smart Transport Advisory Committee and we’re looking for community members who’d like to help advise us on transport options that reduce car use.

We especially want to hear from young people, women, residents with a multicultural background and those with a disability. Applications are open until Friday 28 February at Smart Transport Advisory Committee Ku-ring-gai.

Our ever popular Lunar New Year food market is at St Ives Village Green today Friday 7 February between 5pm and 9pm with delicious food, amusement rides, craft and face painting under the lanterns. I hope to see you there!

Mayor Christine Kay

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It’s been a dramatic start to the year in Ku-ring-gai, with the local area lashed by storms and gale force winds in the last two weeks.

Council received 278 requests including those for clearing trees and debris left over from the storms. This was in addition to the many requests made to the NSW State Emergency Service and Ausgrid.

Our sincere thanks to the NSW SES, RFS, Council staff and Ausgrid for your extraordinary efforts to manage the hundreds of clean-up requests following the storms.

On Sunday 26 January we will be welcoming 240 people from 37 countries as they take their citizenship pledge at the Australia Day ceremony at Knox Grammar School. The winners of the 2025 Ku-ring-gai Local Citizen of the Year Awards will also be announced at this event.

In the afternoon between 1pm and 5pm the Ku-ring-gai Fitness & Aquatic Centre will host a pool party featuring a BBQ, face painting, free entertainment and a poolside DJ. Entry is by gold coin donation and everyone is welcome.

I am looking forward to celebrating the Year of the Snake with our Lunar New Year festivities over the next few weeks. Celebrations will include the popular Lunar New Year food market at St Ives Village Green and some fun activities at the Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden, Gordon Library and the Ku-ring-gai Art Centre.

Thank you to everyone who provided submissions during the public exhibition of the Council’s alternatives to the NSW Government’s transport-oriented development planning controls. Our planning team is now assessing all your feedback for a report to be presented to Council at next month’s meeting.

Between 22 January and 20 February we will also be exhibiting alternatives to the state government’s proposed changes for minimum lot sizes for dual occupancies. You can find out more at our engagement hub.

Mayor Christine Kay

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