Draft Community Engagement Strategy inc Community Participation Plan

The draft Community Engagement Strategy, which incorporates the Community Participation Plan, is currently on public exhibition and open for community feedback.

This comprehensive document combines both the Community Engagement Strategy and Community Participation Plan. This new combined document will replace and supersede Council's existing Community Participation Plan.

The Ku-ring-gai Community is invited to review the draft and provide feedback during the exhibition period which ends on 1 September at midnight.

Background

Council at its meeting of 17 June 2025 resolved in part to endorse the draft combined Community Engagement Strategy and Community Participation Plan and have it placed on public exhibition for 42 days.

Draft Community Engagement Strategy incorporating Community Participation Plan(PDF, 6MB)

The draft Community Engagement Strategy combines the Community Engagement Strategy and Community Participation Plan into one document, providing a clear and accessible resource that outlines Council’s approach to both general engagement and statutory planning consultations.

Community Engagement Strategy (CES)

The Community Engagement Strategy (CES) has been developed to meet the requirements of Section 402 of the Local Government Act. Its format and content provide a high-level overview of Council's community engagement approach and addressing key requirements of Council's Community Engagement Policy.

Community Participation Plan (CPP) updates

Following a review several updates have been made to the CPP - primarily concerning notification practices for development applications. These changes include:

1. Removal of extended notification period over the Christmas/New Year break, aligning with practices in other councils and that prescribed under the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979.
2. Clarified submission requirements, specifying that only submissions made within the notification period and through Council’s online portal will be considered.
3. Introduction of a new notification category for ‘other’ and ‘ancillary works’, ensuring more proportionate consultation based on development scale.
4. Reclassification of notification categories for developments involving heritage items and Heritage Conservation Areas (HCAs) to better align with development scale and impact.
5. Removal of the requirement for physical notification signage (yellow sign) for dual occupancy developments, aligning with current practices for similar forms of development.

These updates aim to streamline Council’s planning notification processes while ensuring transparency and community input.

Providing feedback

The community is invited to comment on this exhibition. Provide written comments quoting reference S14384:

• email krg@krg.nsw.gov.au
• post to General Manager, Ku-ring-gai Council, Locked Bag 1006, Gordon NSW 2072.

Submissions close 1 September at midnight.

All submissions are public and will be considered in a final report to Council.