FAQs

The CISP is a high-level strategic plan that guides Council’s decisions on open space and community facilities. 

Open space and community facilities are buildings and land that have been designed and / or designated for recreational use. This includes parks, play spaces, sportsgrounds, sports courts, swimming pools, cultural / entertainment facilities, community buildings, community gardens and more. 

The CISP is a 30-year plan and makes 1,153 facility-specific recommendations for open space and community facilities for short, medium and long-term planning and investment within the CISP Action Plan. 

The CISP covers over 600 open space and community facilities across the Shoalhaven’s 50 villages and spanning an area of 4,567 square kilometres. Together, these assets represent a significant investment, with a combined value exceeding $684.5 million.  

The CISP considers the unique demographic, geographic, and economic conditions of the Shoalhaven to ensure recommendations are locally responsive and contextually relevant. 

The CISP 2056 focuses on the planning, provision and condition of Council-owned or managed community infrastructure rather than operational matters. 

The draft CISP 2056 was placed on public exhibition from 20 April – 20 May 2026. More than 2,400 survey responses, including almost 30,000 individual pieces of feedback, were received during exhibition. Overall, the draft recommendations received overwhelming support (comprising 74% agreement and 11% neutral responses).

The project team has reviewed community feedback, revisited data inputs, and updated some recommendations.

Most feedback received during public exhibition aligned with the strategic directions identified through the CISP evidence base.

Some community views differed from other key evidence, including population and demographic trends, facility usage data, asset condition assessments, and equitable access considerations. As a result, some feedback may not be reflected in the revised recommendations or may be only partially incorporated.

To support transparency, Appendix D of the CISP includes a detailed register explaining how community feedback influenced changes to recommendations.

Adoption of the CISP means Council recognises the plan as a strategic guide for future community infrastructure planning and investment. It does not mean that all recommendations will be implemented.

When making future decisions, Council should consider the CISP's findings and recommendations alongside other relevant factors.

Importantly:

• Adoption does not commit Council to delivering any specific recommendation.
• Any recommendations involving major capital works will require separate Council consideration and approval.
• Any recommendations involving the divestment of assets will also require separate Council consideration and approval.
• Many recommendations will require further investigation, business case development, funding assessments, and community consultation before decisions are made.
• Future implementation will be subject to Council's financial capacity and the availability of external funding.

The CISP provides a framework to guide decision-making and help ensure future infrastructure decisions are informed, transparent and aligned with long-term community needs.

The CISP identifies the full scale of investment needed to bring community facilities up to contemporary standards and meet community expectations over the long term. However, implementation will be guided by Council's financial capacity and the availability of external funding.

Most projects are expected to rely on grant funding and other partnership opportunities. As a result, projects will be delivered progressively as funding becomes available and priorities are reviewed. Some projects may remain unfunded for an extended period, while others may be delivered sooner if funding opportunities arise or through community-led initiatives and partnerships.

Importantly, the CISP captures all identified infrastructure needs, regardless of current funding availability. This ensures Council has a clear understanding of long-term investment requirements and can make informed decisions as opportunities, priorities and circumstances change.

Council will continue to engage with the community on implementation progress, including funding constraints, project timing and any reprioritisation that may be required over time.

Council will continue to keep the community informed about implementation progress, funding challenges, and any changes to priorities through annual reporting. 

The CISP will be comprehensively reviewed every five years, including comprehensive community consultation.

Guided by community feedback and a comprehensive evidence base, the CISP’s overarching strategic direction is to prioritise the renewal, upgrade and maintenance of existing facilities rather than expanding the asset portfolio. 

New infrastructure is recommended only where it is needed to address identified service gaps, support growth areas or respond to historical under-provision.  

Investment priorities are informed by factors such as accessibility, facility quality, asset condition, utilisation, community benefit and the CISP review principles, ensuring resources are directed where they will deliver the greatest value for the Shoalhaven community.

While this represents a relatively conservative approach to infrastructure provision, the scale of investment required to bring existing facilities up to the benchmarks established through the CISP, and to meet evolving community expectations, remains substantial. Implementation will be guided by Council's financial capacity and the availability of external funding.

The CISP is intended to provide a complete picture of Council's long-term community infrastructure needs, not just the projects that can be funded today.  

By documenting the full scope of investment required, Council can assess individual decisions within a broader strategic context. This helps inform decisions about:

• New initiatives and emerging needs
• Opportunities to bring projects forward when funding becomes available
• Issues that may delay the delivery of planned projects
• Endorsement of master plans and future planning work
• Renewal, repurposing or decommissioning of assets

Not all recommendations will be delivered immediately, and some may remain unfunded. However, including them in the CISP ensures they are recognised and can be considered as circumstances change. 

Importantly, the CISP supports transparent decision-making by providing Council, the community and stakeholders with a clear understanding of the long-term direction for the municipality's community facilities and the investment needed to achieve it.

The CISP is informed by a comprehensive evidence base that combines asset data, strategic analysis, technical assessments and extensive community feedback.

Key inputs include:

• Community Infrastructure Audit 2024, including:
  • Parent and component asset data
  • Third-party asset information
  • Asset condition data
  • Utilisation data, including tourism demand
• Community Infrastructure Needs Analysis 2026, including:
  • Policy, strategic and industry review
  • Demographic analysis
  • Gap analysis
  • Proximity and accessibility analysis
  • Facility assessments
  • Asset condition data
  • Utilisation data, including tourism demand
  • Application of the CISP review principles

The CISP has also been shaped by extensive community and stakeholder engagement. Four rounds of engagement were undertaken throughout the project, generating more than 8,000 submissions from residents, facility users, community groups, stakeholders and other interested parties.

By combining technical analysis, asset information and community input, the CISP provides an evidence-based framework for planning, prioritising and managing community infrastructure over the long term.

The CISP is based on the best available information at the time of preparation. However, like any large-scale strategic planning project, the quality, availability and maturity of data vary across different asset types and facilities.

For example:

• Some asset condition assessments are more recent than others, as assessments are undertaken progressively by asset class.
• Condition information is reported at an aggregated level and may not be available for every individual component within a facility.
• Utilisation data is not available for all facilities and varies depending on how different assets are managed and monitored.
• Some datasets are more mature, complete or reliable than others.

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and consistency of the information used. However, the evidence base should be viewed as a continually evolving body of knowledge that will be refined and improved over time as new data becomes available.

Importantly, recommendations are not based on any single dataset. The CISP draws on a broad range of evidence, including asset condition, utilisation, demographics, accessibility, strategic alignment, community feedback, service needs and local context. This means that apparent inconsistencies in individual data points do not necessarily undermine the overall findings or recommendations.

Assessments were undertaken using tailored provision, proximity and embellishment benchmarks. All benchmarks are documented in Appendix A and Appendix B to the CISP.

In general, adjustments to standard industry benchmarks have been made to allow for a more generous level of provision that better reflects the Shoalhaven’s dispersed settlement pattern, varied topography and seasonal visitation. This approach reflects a considered and careful approach to community infrastructure planning and recognises the value communities place on local facilities and community land. 

While benchmarks provide an important and consistent framework for assessing community infrastructure needs, they represent only one component of the methodology. The CISP 2056 is underpinned by a comprehensive evidence base that integrates policy and industry research, a detailed audit of community infrastructure assets, and an extensive community infrastructure needs analysis to ensure recommendations are informed by both quantitative data and local context.

This methodology considers demographic trends, geographic conditions, facility provision, accessibility, quality, condition and utilisation, alongside community feedback and strategic planning principles.

Although Council was one of the first local governments on the NSW South Coast to adopt a Community Infrastructure Strategic Plan in 2017, the CISP 2017–36 no longer reflects current community needs, population trends, infrastructure data or contemporary planning practice.

The CISP 2056 has been comprehensively updated to incorporate current best practice, 2021 Census data, asset condition information, facility utilisation patterns, seasonal visitation trends, community feedback, and emerging trends in sport, recreation and community infrastructure planning.

The scope of the CISP 2056 has also expanded significantly, with approximately 400 more assets included than in the 2017 plan. This increase is largely the result of a more comprehensive asset identification methodology, including the inclusion of local passive recreation parks and selected foreshore facilities that were not previously captured. As a result, the CISP 2056 provides a more complete, evidence-based assessment of community infrastructure across the Shoalhaven.

Council engaged CRED Consulting to undertake an independent peer review of the Needs Analysis methodology and its application. CRED Consulting are widely recognised for their work in community infrastructure needs assessments, planning, strategy and engagement across diverse communities and projects.  

Overall, CRED found the CISP and its methodology to be robust. They noted that the approach generally aligns with industry standards, is evidence-informed, and is strengthened by the comprehensive community feedback gathered across four consultation phases.  

CRED Consulting further noted that the extent of information provided to the community, and the number of opportunities provided for feedback reflects a string commitment to building community understanding and input into the process.

Artificial intelligence was not used in generating the analysis, findings or recommendations, other than limited use for editing support. 

The analysis underpinning the CISP is complex and multifaceted and was developed by Council staff over a two-year period. Minor errors or inconsistencies may be present and will be corrected over time.