A multi-council project to prepare a Coastal Management Program (CMP) ensuring sustainable and strategic long-term management of the Hawkesbury Nepean River System has gained significant momentum thanks to a $432,000 grant from the NSW Government, allowing it to move into its next stages.
Led by Hornsby Shire Council in partnership with Central Coast Council, Hawkesbury City Council, The Hills Shire Council, Ku-ring-gai Council and Northern Beaches Council and state government agencies, the Hawkesbury Nepean River Coastal Management Program (HNRCMP) will ensure a collaborative approach to the management of the river and adjacent lands.
Stages 1 and 2 of the Program involved a scoping study, community engagement and fieldwork to determine risks, vulnerabilities and opportunities to fill information gaps. Awarded from the NSW Coastal and Estuary grants program, the funding will allow the project to now move to Stages 3 and 4.
Stage 3 includes engaging with the community and stakeholders and identifying short and long term management options to manage key threats facing the estuary now and in the future. In Stage 4, the councils will prepare, exhibit and finalise the HNRCMP before submitting it to the NSW Government for certification and adoption.
Hornsby Shire Mayor Philip Ruddock talked about the importance of the program to Hornsby Shire and the other communities along this unique and beautiful waterway,
"Hornsby Shire Council is proud to be leading the charge in this important program. The Hawkesbury Nepean River Coastal Management Plan will ensure the coordinated management and sustainable development of the Hawkesbury-Nepean River system, including Broken Bay, Brisbane Water and Pittwater estuaries, for the benefit of nature, the economy and the community."
"A true collaboration, the program is a wonderful example of the great work that can be done when councils and state government work together. We thank the NSW Government for its support and look forward to progressing Stages 3 and 4."
