Last year, MidCoast Council sent out a postcard asking residents and property owners what they liked about the North Arm Cove and Carrington area and what improvements they would like to see. This was a prelude to forming a steering group to develop a Local Community Plan (LCP).
Council’s idea for a Community Plan is "for people within a community to come together, have a conversation about what they want for the future and develop a plan for how they will get there." We were told at the last NACCAi meeting by our local council representative, Len Roberts, that the Local Community Plan was important for being able to obtain future government grants. If a project is not in the Local Community Plan, it has a much lower chance of success.
The steering group has now been meeting for some months. They have analysed the submissions to Council from last year, plus have looked at NACCAi community surveys from 2019 and 2012. Most people would like the Cove to stay as a quiet village but with some improvements to infrastructure. Recurrent themes were water access via a jetty and boat ramp, improved sewerage, water and drainage services, and park upgrades. People would also like to see Council enforce its own rules and regulations.
The steering group has been meeting fortnightly with a view to having a draft ready for community consultation in a few months. Members of the steering group are Tony Hann, Tim Nolan, Bob Reid, Trevor Vandenberg and Robert van Zandvliet. Two former members, Maria Pickles and Mike Thorpe, have resigned as they have moved out of the Cove.
