Blue Mountains City Council

Plans of Management for Community Land under the Local Government Act: An Overview

What is Community Land?

Community Land is one type of Council public land. Land that Council owns must be classified, under the Local Government Act, as either "community" or "operational " land.

  • Operational Land has no special management restrictions other than those that may apply to any piece of land.
  • Community Land is reserved for community use. Classification as Community Land reflects the importance of the land to the community because of its use or special features and must be managed according to special guidelines in the Local Government Act.
  • Community Land cannot be sold,
  • Community Land cannot be leased, licensed or have any other estate granted over the land for more than 21 years, and
  • Community Land must have a Plan of Management prepared for it, or applying to it.
What is a Plan of Management?

Plans of Management:

  • Are prepared by Council in consultation with the community, other stakeholders and relevant agencies;
  • Identify the important features of the land;
  • Clarify how Council will manage the land; and
  • Indicate how the land may be used or developed (including leasing and licensing).

The minimum requirements under the Local Government Act are that a plan of management must:

  • Contain core objectives for the management of the land,
  • Contain performance targets,
  • Specify the means of achieving the objectives and performance targets, and
  • Specify how achievement of the objectives and performance target is to be assessed; and
  • Categorise the land
Categories of Community Land

Community Land must be categorised as:

  • Natural Area
  • Park
  • Sportsground
  • General Community Use, or an
  • Area of Cultural Significance

A Natural Area is further categorised as:

  • Bushland
  • Wetland
  • Watercourse
  • Escarpment, or
  • Foreshore

Council may have a piece of community land, parts of which may be best managed as different categories, for example a piece of land with remnant bushland in one part and children's playground equipment in another. Council is able to categorise that land as part "Natural Area" and part "Park". Council must clearly identify where each category applies on a map of the land.

Once land is categorised, core objectives for each category are provided in the Act. These apply automatically to the land, regardless of the content of a plan of management. Other objectives can also be included in the plan of management. Any plan of management that is inconsistent with the core objectives is invalid to the extent of the inconsistency.

How much Community Land does Council manage?

Council manages over 1,000 hectares of land in more than 350 Community Land reserves.

What is involved in preparing a Plan of Management?

The plan of management process requires significant time for research and consultation, and can be lengthy. On average, 12 months are required for a plan of management to be developed and formally adopted by Council. Council currently schedules preparation of 1-2 plans of management per year depending on the resources available and other Council priorities.

Area Plans of Management

Due to the length of time required to prepare a plan of management and the amount of Community Land requiring plans of management, Council has adopted an Area based approach. The Area 3 Community Land Plan of Management was adopted in 2004 and other Area plans of management are planned for successive years.

Site Specific Plans of Management

Site specific plans of management are prepared where issues for a particular site are more complex. Site specific plans of management are prioritised for development based on a set of criteria that includes:

  • Local Government Act requirements: a specific plan of management must be prepared for land comprising the habitat of endangered or threatened species under the Threatened Species Conservation Act or Fisheries Management Act or land containing significant natural features or an Area of Cultural Significance.
  • Management issues: including Sportsground management, proposed changes of use or re-categorisation, leases, capital works projects, asset management and community involvement.

Those Community Land reserves that have the greatest number of matter requiring resolution.

Community Consultation and Submissions

There are a number of ways in which the public can become involved in drafting plans of management. These include attending public hearings, making submissions, participating in community consultations and inspecting draft plans.

The following actions in the development of plans of management indicate at which point in the process there is community consultation and opportunities for public input. The following provides some ideas, but is not limited to:

  • Initial research - document review, initial meetings with user-groups, surveys, Aboriginal values assessment, cultural heritage assessment, public meeting, resident surveys, call for submission
  • Draft Plan of Management and Masterplan prepared
  • Second stage community input - opportunity to identify issues that will need to be addressed with any of the proposals put forward in the Draft PoM or Masterplan through public meeting, information day, steering committee
  • Public exhibition phase - draft Plan of Management and Masterplan adopted by Council for formal public exhibition period which may include an information day or public hearing
  • Review of public submissions - extent of changes determined
  • Adoption of Plan of Management and Masterplan - if no significant changes are required draft Plan of Management is presented to Council for adoption
  • Plan of management action plan implementation - actions recommended in Plan of Management are considered as part of preparation of annual business plans and capital works program

Generally Council prefers to obtain significant community input prior to the development of the draft plan. 

Note: Extent of community consultation will depend on individual Plan of Management.

Note: Council may also chose to develop a Plan of Management for Crown Lands that it manages.  The process outlined above would be similar, however the Crown Lands Act 1989 would apply rather than the Local Government Act 1993.

Council can amend plans of management at any time by adopting a new plan. However, any significant amendment is regarded as another plan of management. The amended plan must be put on public exhibition with opportunities for submissions prior to adoption.

Disclaimer

The above information is published as an introductory guide only.

List of Current Adopted Plans of Management

The following documents can be downloaded at right.

Area Plans of Management

  • Area 3 Plan of Management (Linden to Bullaburra) - General Provisions (adopted by Council on 12 October 2004)
  • Area 3 Plan of Management (Linden to Bullaburra) - Area 3 Detail (adopted by Council on 12 October 2004)

Site Specific Plans of Management

  • Springwood Tennis Centre (adopted by Council on 1 October 1995)
  • Weroona Park - Woodford Tennis Courts (adopted by Council on 21 December 1999)
  • Former School of Arts Site, Springwood (adopted by Council on 11 December 2001)
  • Glenbrook School of Arts (adopted by Council on 12 March 2002)
  • Mount Wilson Village Hall (adopted by Council on 12 March 2002)
  • Woodford Academy Reserve (adopted by Council on 9 July 2002)
  • Glenbrook Lagoon, Mt Sion Park, Mitchells Pass (adopted by Council on 18 February 2003)
  • Gloria Park (adopted by Council on 27 January 2004)
  • Upper Kedumba River Valley - Frank Walford Park and Katoomba Falls Reserve (McRae's Paddock [revised] and Selby Street Sections) (adopted by Council on 27 April 2004 (revised)
  • Bullaburra Village Green - Noble Street Park (adopted by Council on 9 May 2006)
  • Pitt Park (adopted by Council on 12 October 2004)
  • Summerhayes Park (adopted by Council on 23 November 2004)
  • Tunnel Gully Reserve - Lapstone Sportsground (adopted by Council on 13 December 2005)
  • Lawson Community Hall / RFS Building Site (adopted by Council on 28 August 2007)
  • Knapsack Reserve (adopted by Council on 28 August 2007)
  • Jackson Park
  • draft Knapsack Park Masterplan (Sportsground)
  • Benoit Park, Valley Heights, Plan of Management (Adopted 29 September 2009)

Note: Council has other Plans of Management which are not available on it's website.  To check what other Plans of Management Council has in it's records, please phone (02) 4780 5000.

More Information on Public Land Management and Plans of Management

Blue Mountains City Council (02) 4780 5000.

Australian Legal Information Institute (Free internet access to Australian legal materials) www.austlii.edu.au.

Department of Local Government (02) 9289 4000.

Department of Lands (02) 9228 6666.