Conjola Park Master Plan

At the Strategy and Assets Committee Meeting on Tuesday 9 February 2021, Council resolved not to adopt the Draft Conjola Connected Communities Masterplan and Yooralla Bay Concept Plan, however, supported providing some infrastructure improvements in the Conjola Park and Lake Conjola area, aiming to improve the amenity of the area for the community.

It was resolved that Council:

1. Acknowledge and commend the efforts of the Conjola Community Recovery Association and the hard work and commitment in developing the Draft Conjola Connected Communities Masterplan and Draft Yooralla Bay Concept Plan. In doing so, Council writes to the Conjola Park residents thanking them for their input into the community consultation, and confirming the extent of the Council’s commitment to the infrastructure improvements adopted in the recommendation.

2. Do not adopt the Draft Conjola Connected Communities Masterplan and Draft Yooralla Bay Concept Plan prepared by TAKT Studio for Architecture and instead endorse the following infrastructure improvements:

a. Hoylake Grove Park, Conjola Park:

i. Memorial Garden and seating elements

ii. Footpaths from Hoylake Grove to and around Playground, Shade/Shelter near playground, Accessible BBQ and picnic facilities in accordance with grant funding

b. Lake Conjola:

i. Lake Conjola Entrance Road Bikeway through to the boat ramp elements identified in the Draft Conjola Connected Communities Masterplan, without the deviation at Aney Street.

3. Continue to advocate and seek funding for any of the identified infrastructure improvements that cannot be met by the existing grant monies with Council contribution of $200,000 and any additional embellishments and infrastructure as identified by the community.

4. Continue to liaise with the Conjola Community Recovery Association regarding any donated funds which have been raised that could be used towards the delivery of these elements.

Council staff have written to the community to inform them of the outcome of the Council meeting. We received many submissions and really appreciate the level of engagement during the process.

The first step for Council staff is to now progress with delivering the improvements at Hoylake Grove Park including footpaths, shade / shelter, and accessible BBQ and picnic facility.

Integral to this, is working with the Conjola Park residents to ensure we are able to deliver what the community wants. To this end, we will continue to consult further and provide updates in relation to the delivery of these works via the Get Involved project page.

In addition to the two surveys, we have created a Quick Poll to give our community the opportunity to have your say about what you would like to see improved in the parks and open spaces of Conjola Park and Lake Conjola.

Thank you for your input, this Quick Poll has now closed.

As part of the reopening of the community consultation period on the draft Conjola Connected Communities Master Plan and Yooralla Bay Concept Plan, Council staff will be out in Conjola Park and Lake Conjola to meet with the community members who are interested in finding out more about the draft Plans.

The on-site consultation sessions will be held across three separate days at the following sites:

• Wednesday 11 November, 12pm to 2pm at Hoylake Park
• Wednesday 18 November, 12pm to 2pm at Lake Conjola Community Hall
• Thursday 19 November, 3pm to 6pm at the Bushfire Hub, Lake Conjola Community Hall

You can download a copy of the Community Consultation Flyer via this link.

Consultation on the Conjola Connected Communities Masterplan and Yooralla Bay Concept Plan will reopen after the community raised some concerns that Council have not reached everyone during the consultation period that ran from 3 August and 30 September 2020 (inclusive).

The community consultation period will reopen from Friday 30 October to Friday 27 November (inclusive). The reopening will involve the same surveys as the initial consultation period, as well as an opportunity to provide written submissions.

The surveys will be available via the following links:

• Survey on Conjola Connected Communities Masterplan
• Survey on Yooralla Bay Concept Plan

If you require a hard copy of the survey, please contact Jessica Volkanovski on (02) 4429 3152. Should you wish to provide a written submission, these will also be accepted. Written submissions are to be sent to council@shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au or P.O. Box 42 Nowra NSW 2541 by the consultation close date.

Keep an eye out for flyers in your mail box.

Shoalhaven City Council would like to take this opportunity to confirm that Council has not endorsed or adopted the Conjola Connected Communities Masterplan and Yooralla Bay Concept Plan.

Further, Council would like to clarify that TAKT Studio for Architecture are not Council’s architects and were not engaged by Council. The engagement of TAKT Studio for Architecture who Conjola Connected Communities Masterplan and Yooralla Bay Concept Plan was wholly the responsibility of the Conjola Community Recovery Association who also funded these services.

Council’s aim throughout the Community Engagement and Consultation period, which has been run and managed by Council staff, has been to work with the residents of Conjola Park so that we understand what you do or do not want to see in the park and foreshore areas of Yooralla Bay and Hoylake Park, and the Lake Conjola area. This is why the feedback through the consultation period is important to us as it will help inform and guide any future works in your community.

During the consultation period from 3 August and 28 September 2020 (inclusive), Council saw significant engagement from interested community members with:

• 1900 Get Involved page visits.
• Over 140 surveys were received for the Draft Conjola Connected Communities Masterplan and the Draft Yooralla Bay Concept Plan.
• Over 40 written submissions were received during the consultation period and after.
• Webinar was attended by 39 participants, with over 50 questions received.

Council will continue to work with the community in bushfire recovery efforts and improving the infrastructure provision in the Conjola Park and Lake Conjola areas, with a recent announcement made by the Federal Government awarding $165,000 towards pathways, BBQ and picnic facilities at Hoylakle Grove Reserve under the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program.

More information on the community consultation will be available soon.

This webinar recording includes Questions and Answers from presenters at the midpoint of the one hour webinar. The panel includes Shoalhaven City Council's Interim Director City Performance, Jane Lewis; Unit Manager Sport & Recreation, Susan Edwards and Senior Strategic Planner Jessica Volkanovski as well as Brent Dunn and Katharina Hendell from TAKT Studio for Architecture.

Shoalhaven City Council is hosting a webinar for community members to contribute to the Draft Conjola Connected Communities Masterplan and Yooralla Bay Concept Plan.

Both the Masterplan and Concept Plan are available for in the Documents Section.

To join the Conjola Park Masterplan Webinar from a mobile device or tablet, please follow these instructions:

1. Download/Install the Microsoft Teams App from the App Store
2. Select sign up for free
3. Enter your email address and select next
4. Select ‘For friends and Family (under how do you want to use teams) and click next
5. Select Go to Skype and download/install Skype
6. CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE WEBINAR
7. When prompted join as a guest
8. Type in your name and sign in as a guest

You are now ready to watch the webinar!

To join the Conjola Park Masterplan Webinar from a computer, please follow these instructions:

1. CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE WEBINAR
2. When prompted click on ‘Watch on the web instead’
3. Select Join anonymously

You are now ready to watch the webinar!

Please send your questions to communityengagement@shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au prior to the session.

When

Location

Online via Microsoft Teams

The volunteer Conjola Recovery Team have been working with the community and architects Takt to prepare a masterplan for the broader Conjola Park and Lake Conjola area, and a specific concept plan for the Yooralla Bay (Conjola Park foreshore area).

Council are now assisting with the broader community consultation, and have prepared a survey on these draft plans to seek community feedback.

Council are interested to hear your feedback on the draft masterplan and concept plan.

Whether your feedback relates to components of the draft plans or the whole plan, all feedback is welcome and will assist Council to determine how to move forward with improvements in Conjola Park and surrounds.

To view the Concept Plan Report for Hoylake Park and Yooralla Bay click here.

To view the Revised Master Plan for Conjola Connected Communities here.

The surveys are open open until Monday 28 September 2020 and can be completed by using the 'Survey' tab on this page or by clicking here.

Community members may also wish to write into Council via council@shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au with your feedback.

If you wish to discuss the plans with Council staff, please contact Jessica Volkanovski, Community and Recreation Unit on (02) 4429 3152.

Council are progressing with the installation of the playground at Hoylake Grove Reserve following overwhelming support for the concept provided for comment.

The community, in consultation with Council are continuing to develop a Master Plan for Conjola Park, which will consider further enhancements to open spaces in the area.

Council’s vision for the Shoalhaven is to emerge from this bushfire and its impacts in a better, stronger and more resilient position than it was prior to the bushfire emergency.

Council understands that playgrounds offer opportunities for kids and parents to collaborate and engage with each other.

Council are seeking the community's feedback on a shovel ready design for Hoylake Grove Reserve playground which was affected by bushfire at Conjola Park earlier this year.

This design is ready to be constructed and will take approximately 12 weeks (weather permitting).

To view the concept visit the Photo Gallery on this page.

Thank you for your input, the survey is now closed.

Construction is guided by the Community Infrastructure Strategic Plan 2017 ‐ 2036 when assessing the requirements of playground provisions.

If you would like to follow this project, please subscribe through 'Stay Informed' on this page.