EARLY STAGES COMMUNITY CONSULTATION FOR MACQUARIE RIVER NORTH AND SOUTH PRECINCTS
Councillors
will be presented with the initial concept/spatial plans for the Macquarie
River North and South precincts on Thursday morning (1 September 2022) during
an information workshop facilitated by Sala4D, consultants with experience of
seven years in managing engagement projects of a similar nature.
Community
consultation on initial spatial plans for the Macquarie River North and South
precincts will commence with an early morning briefing to Councillors giving
them their first opportunity to see any initial plans. Public community
engagement activities will commence only hours afterwards.
Mayor of
Dubbo Regional Council (DRC) Mathew Dickerson said these initial concepts will
help inform the first draft master plan for the precincts. "These concept
plans will be high level to enable everyone in the community to view a mix of
options and provide needed input to set the direction of the master plan before
any detailed design work commences.”
Mr Dickerson
said that seeking feedback on these concepts was another important step in
ensuring that ideas and viewpoints from a range of different community members
for both the North and South precincts are able to be considered. “Following
targeted stakeholder engagement sessions in June, Sala4D has developed the
spatial plans which is a standard early step in any community led design
process. From here the whole community will be able to comment on the proposed
options and provide valuable feedback before any master plan design work
commences.”
Three
concepts for the North and South precincts will be publicly available and the community
will have multiple opportunities to contribute over a three-week period. “I
encourage the community to provide their views at this conceptual stage of the
design process and again in future months as we move through to public
exhibition of draft designs and final designs,” said Mr Dickerson.
The master
planning project extends from the Nita McGrath netball precinct to Devil’s Hole
at the northern end and from the Lady Cutler Ovals to Shibble Bridge at the
southern end. Sala4D Landscape Architects has been working on spatial concepts
for the river corridor precincts, informed by previous master plans, the community
strategic plan, Open Space Master Plan 2018 and initial ideas and insights
gathered from a range of community and interest groups.
Shahreen
Alford from Sala4D said the community participation has been very valuable so
far. “We have worked with a wide variety of key stakeholders that use the areas
to establish the current and future needs and wants for the precincts. The
stakeholders have included a range of environmental groups, community groups
and sporting groups and associations. From these stakeholder workshops we
have developed 3 options each for the North and South Precincts that we will
now use to engage with the broader community.”
The
community will have the following opportunities to participate:
Two open information sessions and a pop
up shop on Thursday 1 September
facilitated by Sala4D Landscape Architects:
Session 1 from 9.30-10.30am, Victoria Park No.1 Clubhouse
Session 2 from 6.00-7.00pm, Victoria Park No.1 Clubhouse
Pop up shop at the Macquarie Street Dubbo, Rotunda from 11.00am-1.30pm
Community BBQ Saturday
3 September
- Regand Park barbeque area from 10.00am-12.00pm
Community Design Workshops will be held
on Wednesday 21 September which
will be split into two sessions:
Workshop 1 from 12.00-1.00pm (South Precinct) and
1.00-2.00pm (North Precinct),
Victoria Park No.1 Clubhouse
Workshop 2 from 5.30-6.30pm (South Precinct) and
6.30-7.30pm (North Precinct),
Victoria Park No.1 Clubhouse.
The online
survey will also be posted on the Dubbo Regional Council website from 1 September 2022, and closes on Sunday
18 September www.dubbo.nsw.gov.au/macquarierivermasterplan
For answers to
any questions please contact macquarierivermasterplan@dubbo.nsw.gov.au
Last Edited: 17 Oct 2022