Central Coast Claims Three Awards

Central Coast Council has claimed three of the six categories at Friday night’s Tasmanian Awards for Planning Excellence, held at the Moonah Arts Centre.

Council won the Improving Planning Processes category for a suite of initiatives that are helping break down barriers to understanding and engagement. These include a dedicated booking system that ensures customers have planners’ undivided attention, and a sold-out Planning for Non-Planners community forum attended by around 100 residents.

Council has also introduced a Pre-Determination Mediation Policy, providing applicants and community members with a practical alternative to conflict and appeals. Additional policy work on strata development and public open space, combined with structural reforms such as the creation of a Development Support team and Strategic Growth Directorate, have helped integrate disciplines and better align planning with Council’s broader economic development goals.

Council’s housing strategy, Our Homes – Our Future, won the Strategic Planning Project category. One of the largest projects of its kind undertaken in Tasmania, the strategy involved extensive community engagement to identify what types of housing the region needs – and where – over the next twenty years.

With the strategic work now complete, Council is drafting Specific Area Plans for key settlements which – subject to Tasmanian Planning Commission approval – will form part of the local planning scheme and encourage greater housing diversity across Central Coast.

Our Homes – Our Future also won the People’s Choice Award, tying with City of Launceston’s Launceston Housing Plan.

Mayor Cheryl Fuller said these achievements demonstrated the importance of an organisation-wide, values-led approach.

“Directing this kind of work requires strong organisational values and commitment at every level of Council,” Mayor Fuller said.

“By listening to our customers and acting on the issues they raise, we’re building a One Team culture that supports better outcomes for our community. I’m incredibly proud of our team and grateful for this recognition.”

Council’s Director Strategic Growth, Daryl Connelly, said the awards were recognition of the team’s commitment to improving planning outcomes for the community.

“We’re doing the sort of work that often only large metropolitan councils do,” Mr Connelly said. “And we’re doing it exceptionally well thanks to the efforts and abilities of our staff.

“Great towns and cities don’t just happen – they’re planned. This recognition by the Planning Institute of Australia should give our community confidence that the planning being done on their behalf is among the best of its kind.”

Mr Connelly thanked the Planning Institute of Australia Tasmania Division and the other nominees, noting that initiatives like the awards provide valuable camaraderie and celebration in a field that often comes with significant challenges.