Community Infrastructure Strategic Plan (CISP) Review

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The Community Infrastructure Strategic Plan 2017 – 2036 (CISP) provides a framework to guide the planning and strategic management of open space and community facilities owned and / or managed by Council.

Open space and community facilities are buildings and land which have been designed and / or designated for recreational activities. This includes:

• Parks and play spaces
• Sportsgrounds and sports courts
• Showgrounds and equestrian facilities
• Aquatic, leisure, and indoor sports centres
• Skate parks, BMX tracks and pump tracks
• Public halls and community centres
• Cultural buildings (e.g. libraries, galleries, museums, arts and craft buildings)
• Community gardens
• Specialised community buildings (e.g. scouts / girl guides clubs, youth clubs, men’s sheds)
• Foreshore and marine facilities (e.g. surf clubs, sailing clubs, jetties)
• Tracks, trails, and boardwalks
• Commercial facilities (e.g. the Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre and the Shoalhaven City Turf Club).

CISP Review

The current CISP was adopted in 2017 and is due for review. It is important that the CISP is required to be reviewed regularly to ensure that the recommendations in the CISP are based on up-to-date population data and consider contemporary trends.

The CISP Review is an action in Council’s Development Program and Operational Plan 2023/24 (DPOP) and is being led by the Open Space and Recreation Planning team within the City Services directorate.

How can I get involved?

Council understands that open space and community facilities are important to a broad spectrum of the community. Open space and community facilities provide places for people to gather, socialise and engage in recreational activities. They contribute to physical and mental wellbeing, promote community connectedness, and enhance the liveability of the Shoalhaven Local Government Area.

Council is keen to hear from the community about the open space and community facilities that matter to you. The latest and most extensive community engagement campaign for the CISP Review project closed on 30 June 2025. The campaign ran for 7 weeks, from 12 May 2025 to 30 June 2025. This campaign is emerging as one of our most successful community consultations to date, in terms of the quantity of feedback received.

There will be a further opportunity to provide feedback on the draft CISP during a planned public exhibition period in early 2026.

We will continue to publish updates to this webpage about the CISP Review process. You can also subscribe to receive updates on the CISP Review by providing your email address in the ‘Stay Informed’ box (located in the top right of this page).

Financial sustainability

The CISP Review is being undertaken in the context of work to improve Council’s financial position.

The revised CISP will provide a guide to assist Council make strategic decisions on open space and community facilities across the Shoalhaven.

The CISP is a long-term plan which considers how open space and community facilities will be used over the next 30 years. The revised CISP will make recommendations for open space and community facilities in the short, medium and long-term and identify funding approaches where relevant.

Recommendations in the CISP will be based on the findings of a Community Infrastructure Audit, a comprehensive Needs Analysis, and the outcomes of community engagement.

For more information on the CISP Review timeline, including the community engagement phase, please see the Lifecycle on this page.

To learn how Council is addressing its financial challenges, please visit here.