Central Coast Council has launched an annual Community Engagement Plan 2023-24 which will include progress reports to Council as part of the Operational Plan.

The Community Engagement Plan seeks to address community concerns about having more awareness of forward community engagement activities being undertaken by Council.

Council Director Community and Recreation Services, Melanie Smith said Council has an Engagement Framework that defines our approach to engagement to ensure accountability and consistent application.

“The annual Community Engagement Plan will be available for the community to view on Council’s Your Voice Our Coast website and will be updated quarterly in line with Council’s quarterly reporting cycle,” Ms Smith said.

“Council’s engagement platform, Your Voice Our Coast sees an average of 98,000 unique visits annually hosting a range of projects from infrastructure delivery to policy updates.

“While Council regularly informs the community and does see high engagement, we are always looking at ways we can improve.

“By showcasing our upcoming engagement activities, the annual plan will enable a more inclusive process for community engagement, as the community can view other projects that have not yet commence engagement activities and share a preliminary comment on or even opt in to stay updated.

“While this is an exciting step for our engagement with the community it is also a timely reminder that planned activities may change and additional engagement activities may be identified as we progress projects.

Council Administrator Rik Hart said we’re committed to building strong relationships and delivering a great customer experience in all our interactions.

“This plan will help to engage and communicate openly and honestly with the community to build a relationship based on trust, transparency, respect and use community participation and feedback to inform decision making.

“This plan is a roadmap for the community to ensure a balanced and collaborative decision-making process between the community and Council is achieved.”

View the Community Engagement Plan at yourvoiceourcoast.com/engagementplan and sign up to Council’s eNews to have your say.