Central Coast Council has prepared a draft Strategy to promote, maintain and enhance urban greening across the Central Coast by planting and maintaining trees in public areas called the Greener Places Strategy.

Council Director, Environment and Planning, Scott Cox said the draft Central Coast wide strategy includes mechanisms to sustain and enhance the urban forest canopy across all land parcels in the urban suburbs of the Central Coast and is based on data derived from scientific investigations. 

“The Central Coast community has recognised the importance of urban vegetation and asked for more trees and vegetation in our suburbs as a key deliverable identified in the Community Strategic Plan,” Mr Cox said.

“We have listened to the community and through the Greener Places Strategy, Council will increase the level of tree planting in 18 priority suburbs with the greatest level of ‘Urban Heat Island Effect’, that is urban areas that experience significantly warmer temperatures than neighbouring areas due to human activities.

“Council will also commence successional planting in its passive open space reserves as surveys have found that many of the trees in these areas are over-mature and as such may require replacement in the medium-term,” Mr Cox said.

The draft Strategy will also ensure that when public trees are removed, they are replaced by the planting of two new trees in the same suburb.

But Council will not be leading this charge alone. Private developers will be required to complete high quality landscaping in medium and high-density development through future changes to Council’s Development Control Plan.

“The draft Strategy identifies opportunities for expansion of other types of urban vegetation in the region including encouraging rooftop gardens, green walls and increased landscaping requirements to be considered for development,” Mr Cox said.

Mayor Jane Smith said the community wanted greener and more liveable urban areas and this Strategy would bring that to life.

“Our community told us through the Community Strategic Plan that they value the natural environment on the Coast and want to see it cherished and expanded,” Mayor Smith said.

“We are a large and growing region, expected to be home to more than 415,000 people by 2036.

“We need to ensure, as we increase our housing supply, our neighbourhoods and communities are liveable and greening our suburbs will go a long way to delivering that. 

“I encourage the community to have a look at the draft Strategy and get onboard so that the Central Coast can have a robust framework for maintaining and growing our greener places for generations to come,” Mayor Smith said.

For more information and to make a submission on the draft Strategy, go to www.yourvoiceourcoast.com/GreeningCentralCoast

Public exhibition closes 5 September, 2019.