Wollongong Harbour Master Plan Report October 2020
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Master Plan Report Final — October 2020 This document is not Wollongong City This document has been prepared by Place Council or New South Wales Government Design Group at the request of the NSW policy. While every care has been taken Government. in preparing this publication, Wollongong City Council and the New South Wales ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Government accepts no responsibility for The Wollongong Harbour Master Plan decisions or actions taken as a result of is a product of a collaborative efort any data, information, statement or advice, involving a wide range of technical experts, expressed or implied, contained within. All designers and stakeholders, as well as the plans, maps and images are intended to Wollongong community. represent general concepts for the purpose of master planning. They do not, and are Project manager not intended to, identify and give attributes Transport for NSW or rights to specifc land parcels. The information contained in this publication is Master plan lead consultant based on knowledge and understanding at Place Design Group the time of writing (December 2018) and endorsement (October 2020). Supporting consultants HillPDA © State of New South Wales through Transport for NSW 2020. This publication GML Heritage is copyright. You may download, display, Project Steering Committee print and reproduce this material provided that the wording is reproduced exactly, NSW Department of Planning Industry the source is acknowledged, and the & Environment copyright, update address and disclaimer Wollongong City Council notice are retained. Transport for NSW Contents 1.0 Introduction 1 2.0 Context 4 3.0 Consultation 15 4.0 Master plan 21 5.0 Implementation 31 WOLLONGONG HARBOUR MASTER PLAN REPORT | FINAL — OCTOBER 2020 | TRANSPORT FOR NSW TRANSPORT FOR NSW | FINAL — OCTOBER 2020 | WOLLONGONG HARBOUR MASTER PLAN REPORT 1.0 Introduction Wollongong Harbour has This master plan report represents played a signifcant, historical the culmination of consultation role in the shaping of and investigation that has been undertaken for the harbour over Wollongong City. It is a well 12 months. This document sets loved city space and will out a vision—based on community continue to serve the city into feedback—that will guide the future of the future. the space. Across the course of more Included is a summary of background information including some of than 140 years of settlement the constraints and opportunities and before, the harbour has presented by the harbour and a grown and evolved through summary of community consultation many phases in response activities. to the changing face and challenges of the city. What is clear from the background research and consultation is the community’s desire to see the space The master plan explores a developed in a manner that refects future for the harbour that the history of the harbour and creates refects on the past history a destination for both residents and of the space whilst creating a tourists. In this regard the space is as contemporary asset that will important now and into the future as be a vital part of the life of it has been for the last 100 years. Wollongong. 1 WOLLONGONG HARBOUR MASTER PLAN REPORT | FINAL — OCTOBER 2020 | TRANSPORT FOR NSW 2 TRANSPORT FOR NSW | FINAL — OCTOBER 2020 | WOLLONGONG HARBOUR MASTER PLAN REPORT Vision Wollongong Harbour is the active working heart of the city— it is the city’s playground and event space. Marine, tourism and recreation uses will continue to coexist within the harbour, providing activation and economic opportunities consistent with its historical use and purpose. 3 WOLLONGONG HARBOUR MASTER PLAN REPORT | FINAL — OCTOBER 2020 | TRANSPORT FOR NSW 2.0 Context Regional context Locational context Uses and activities Wollongong City is located Population growth for the region The city, like the broader The current harbour is used in the Illawarra region of results from a number of factors region, is defned by its by a range of commercial, New South Wales, about 80 including the sustained migration of relationship to the landscape community and recreation young families and retirees looking kilometres south of Sydney. and its natural elements— groups. A number of to take advantage of the lifestyles on The region has signifcant the escarpment to the west commercial fshing boats ofer. Growth will be moderate in most environmental and scenic age groups, except in the 65-and-over and the sea to the east. This use the facility, as do a range beauty. group, which will see higher growth, gives Wollongong City a truly of charter operators, as the particularly in Kiama and Shoalhaven. unique setting. The city’s facility is one of only a few By 2036, the population of the population is currently over protected harbours along this Urban development in the region is Illawarra/Shoalhaven region is 200,000 people, forecast stretch of coastline. typically defned by the landscape forecast to grow to 463,150—an to grow to over 250,000 by and topography of the region, with Until recently the harbour had a increase of 60,400 from 2016. The 2036. combined urban area of Wollongong a string of suburban communities slipway and fuelling facilities. Both and Shellharbour represents one and coastal towns focused on the The city centre is set back from the are no longer operational, however of the top 10 largest urban areas in transport corridors in the north. foreshore. Physical links between alternatives are available at other Australia. the two are not strong or obvious. A locations. city core of retail and administrative The area is a popular recreation spot functions and a string of suburbs and for fshing and non-motorised craft settlements take advantage of the such as kayaks, paddleboards and coastal location and create a series of sailing boats. Charter boat facilities activity nodes. use the Belmore Basin as a base, The harbour is located immediately though there are very few facilities for north-east of the city centre adjoining tourists at the harbour. the prominent landmark of Flagstaf Hill. The subject site is the land defned by the Working Waterfront zoning. However, this only represents a small part of a larger picture of how the harbour relates to the spaces around it. 4 TRANSPORT FOR NSW | FINAL — OCTOBER 2020 | WOLLONGONG HARBOUR MASTER PLAN REPORT 5 WOLLONGONG HARBOUR MASTER PLAN REPORT | FINAL — OCTOBER 2020 | TRANSPORT FOR NSW Paths, nodes and edges The linkages to surrounding There are no clear routes to get The coastal edge formed by Clif Primarily, they should allow access areas and activities are to the harbour and foreshore Road is a strong, unifying and high- to the foreshore, but also allow for important in understanding from the city and other areas, and amenity path that enjoys outstanding a range of alternative activities not how the harbour as a ‘place’ wayfnding for the casual visitor can coastal vistas. Turning the road into a ofered at other points along the fts within its context. be difcult. While Clif Road provides boulevard forming a low-speed, mixed foreshore. A detailed analysis of the a clear path along the coast, the pedestrian and vehicle movement use of these spaces is beyond the The harbour sits below a prominent connection between the harbour corridor would reinforce this strong scope of this master plan and should local headland called Flagstaf Hill. and the town centre is not obvious. edge. The continuation of some of be the focus of separate commission. This hill has almost 360 degree views The harbour adjoins the city centre the public realm elements, such as The harbour itself is framed by and it is not surprising the area was but is somewhat separated and footpath pavement detail, street trees, Flagstaf Hill, the yacht club and chosen in the past as the site for a disconnected from it. signage and furniture along Harbour fshermen’s co-operative buildings, series of gun emplacements to protect Street, could help create the missing Crown Street, which forms a strong Brighton Beach and the seawalls. the port and the city. link between the city and the harbour east-west main street in the town These elements provide a good sense and include upgrades to Market The harbour currently forms part of a centre, connects directly to City Beach of enclosure to this space. It feels Square. string of local activity nodes along this but not with the harbour. The harbour like one space despite the underlying section of the foreshore that includes is a brief 15-minute walk from the city Clif Road also provides access to zoning. the Continental Baths, Brighton Beach centre. However there is no well- a range of public parks that line However, the space is let down by and Brighton Lawn Reserve, kiosks, defned path between the two. the foreshore. Those on the beach poor standards of fnishes on surface cafés, restaurants and a range of side of Clif Road tend to be well Squires Way, George Hanley Drive, treatments, a lack of defnition of the popular swimming spots. This string programmed and detailed. Those on Kembla Street and Bourke Street pedestrian realm, poorly conceived of activity nodes is connected by a the west side tend to be underutilised, form the major entry paths into the building elements such as the strongly defned coastal path along lacking a logical rationale for their use city from the north and the east. yacht club kiosk and the electricity Clif Road, which links these nodes or programming. These routes connect directly to the transformer, inconsistency in historical and forms an edge to adjoining city centre and to the harbour and Again the unifying element of Clif reference signage and simplistic residential development. The width of foreshore areas, but aren’t easily Road could be used to re-examine tourist and wayfnding signage.