Liveable
Like the rest of Sydney, Hornsby Shire has been under substantial pressure to accommodate a rapidly growing population.
Our community values the bushland identity of the Shire and have concerns with the rate and nature of development and change within our area.
Council has identified a range of studies aimed at improving the liveability of our neighbourhoods and centres to better respond to the future needs of our community and build a sense of place and pride. Council’s focus for the medium to long term will be to investigate housing choice and diversity, affordability and preservation of local character.
Although there is sufficient zoned land and development pipeline capacity to accommodate required dwelling growth in the short term, Council’s planning for the medium to long term targets will focus on housing choice and diversity, affordability, liveability and local character. It will also involve assessment of the demand for medium density, child care and seniors housing developments to inform exemption strategies from State Government policies which override local planning controls.
The following reviews are being completed as a component of the Housing Strategy:
- Affordable Housing Discussion Paper;
- Medium Density Demand Review;
- Childcare Centres Demand Review; and
- Seniors Housing Demand Review.
At its meeting on 11 November 2020, Council adopted the Hornsby Local Housing Strategy 2020. Find out more information.
The Walking and Cycling Plan is an integrated strategy which aims to encourage and increase walking and cycling to reflect the community’s desire to improve health and the environment, increase sustainability and improve lifestyle. It seeks to improve connectivity by creating a network for commuting and recreation. This strategy which also includes bushwalking, will aim to improve the connections between the urban areas and bushwalking tracks. It will take into consideration key destinations such as schools, train stations, shops, and parks.
Hornsby Play Plan – Community Survey
Hornsby Shire Council is preparing a Play Plan to guide the planning, design, management and maintenance of playgrounds and other play opportunities across the Hornsby Shire for the next 10 years. Play is essential for people of all ages. It helps adults and children to build new skills, socialise, get active and have fun!
The purpose of the Play Plan is to ensure the provision of safe, accessible and sustainable high quality playgrounds that will equitably improve distribution and play value for all residents both now and into the future. Inclusive play will be embedded into the provision of playgrounds and will ensure a network of play spaces across the Shire that provide a diversity of play experiences.
As part of preparing the Play Plan the community is being surveyed to establish needs, preferences and future aspirations for public play facilities. This project forms part of Council’s Local Strategic Planning Statement.
The survey closed on Monday 27 May, 2019.
The Play Plan was developed following several rounds of broad community consultation with a variety of key groups including children, young people, older people and parents and carers of children with disabilities. The recommendations and action plan outlined in the Play Plan have been informed by the outcomes of the community consultations.
The Play Plan sets out a plan for the future of play spaces in the Hornsby Shire, including a vision, guiding principles and action plan.
Council protects buildings, places and landscapes of historical and environmental heritage through the identification and listing of heritage items and heritage conservation areas, overlaid with planning controls. More than 800 heritage items have been listed and nine heritage conservation areas established since Council’s first Heritage Study was prepared in 1991.
In 2018 Council resolved to undertake a Comprehensive Heritage Study to respond to the changing development context, demography and community expectations regarding the identification, policy and protection of Hornsby Shire’s heritage.
The Hornsby Heritage Action Plan was prepared in 2019 to identify the strategic tasks required to guide the scope of the Comprehensive Heritage Study and informed a four-year programme to complete the tasks.
Year 1 of the Comprehensive Heritage Study programme commenced in October 2020.
The Action Plan was publicly exhibited at the same time as the draft Hornsby Local Strategic Planning Statement and is available to view on the Document Library page.
Hornsby Thematic History
The Hornsby Thematic History was endorsed by Council at its meeting on 13 October 2021. This is the first project to be completed under the Comprehensive Heritage Study programme.
Council is exhibiting a draft masterplan to set the future direction for a thriving centre that reflects its bushland setting.
Additional housing and jobs are proposed to support the growth of our major Town Centre in a way achieves design excellence, sustainability, accessibility and liveability.
Liveable
Like the rest of Sydney, Hornsby Shire has been under substantial pressure to accommodate a rapidly growing population.
Our community values the bushland identity of the Shire and have concerns with the rate and nature of development and change within our area.
Council has identified a range of studies aimed at improving the liveability of our neighbourhoods and centres to better respond to the future needs of our community and build a sense of place and pride. Council’s focus for the medium to long term will be to investigate housing choice and diversity, affordability and preservation of local character.
Although there is sufficient zoned land and development pipeline capacity to accommodate required dwelling growth in the short term, Council’s planning for the medium to long term targets will focus on housing choice and diversity, affordability, liveability and local character. It will also involve assessment of the demand for medium density, child care and seniors housing developments to inform exemption strategies from State Government policies which override local planning controls.
The following reviews are being completed as a component of the Housing Strategy:
- Affordable Housing Discussion Paper;
- Medium Density Demand Review;
- Childcare Centres Demand Review; and
- Seniors Housing Demand Review.
At its meeting on 11 November 2020, Council adopted the Hornsby Local Housing Strategy 2020.
Council’s Community and Cultural Facilities Strategic Plan sets the long-term direction for community and cultural facilities within Hornsby Shire. The Plan requires updating to reflect current priorities and demographic trends and the loss of territory south of the M2 motorway to the City of Parramatta Council.
The Active Living Hornsby Strategy (2016) identifies the recreation and open space needs of the Hornsby community and provides a strategic framework from which to guide and manage future open space and recreation planning for Hornsby Shire. The Strategy identifies further Plans that need to be actioned in a staged approach. Planning for and maximising the use of existing open space will need to include progression of the further Plans identified in the Active Living Hornsby Strategy, including a Play Plan and a Walking and Cycling Plan.
The Walking and Cycling Plan is an integrated strategy which aims to encourage and increase walking and cycling to reflect the community’s desire to improve health and the environment, increase sustainability and improve lifestyle. It seeks to improve connectivity by creating a network for commuting and recreation. This strategy which also includes bushwalking, will aim to improve the connections between the urban areas and bushwalking tracks. It will take into consideration key destinations such as schools, train stations, shops, and parks.
Hornsby Play Plan – Community Survey
Hornsby Shire Council is preparing a Play Plan to guide the planning, design, management and maintenance of playgrounds and other play opportunities across the Hornsby Shire for the next 10 years. Play is essential for people of all ages. It helps adults and children to build new skills, socialise, get active and have fun!
The purpose of the Play Plan is to ensure the provision of safe, accessible and sustainable high quality playgrounds that will equitably improve distribution and play value for all residents both now and into the future. Inclusive play will be embedded into the provision of playgrounds and will ensure a network of play spaces across the Shire that provide a diversity of play experiences.
As part of preparing the Play Plan the community is being surveyed to establish needs, preferences and future aspirations for public play facilities. This project forms part of Council’s Local Strategic Planning Statement.
The survey closed on Monday 27 May, 2019.
The Play Plan was developed following several rounds of broad community consultation with a variety of key groups including children, young people, older people and parents and carers of children with disabilities. The recommendations and action plan outlined in the Play Plan have been informed by the outcomes of the community consultations.
The Play Plan sets out a plan for the future of play spaces in the Hornsby Shire, including a vision, guiding principles and action plan.
Council protects buildings, places and landscapes of historical and environmental heritage through the identification and listing of heritage items and heritage conservation areas, overlaid with planning controls. More than 800 heritage items have been listed and nine heritage conservation areas established since Council’s first Heritage Study was prepared in 1991. Five subsequent periodical reviews have been undertaken since, to reassess identified heritage values and respond to nominations received for potential new listings.
At its meeting on 8 August 2018, Council resolved to undertake a Comprehensive Heritage Study. GML Heritage was engaged by Council to prepare the Hornsby Heritage Action Plan 2019 which is the first step in the process and includes a gap analysis and identification of priority actions to be further investigated under the Comprehensive Study. The Hornsby Shire Heritage Action Plan was endorsed by Council on 8 May 2019 and will be publicly exhibited at the same time as the draft Hornsby Local Strategic Planning Statement. In the interim, you may view the Action Plan on the Document Library page.
The Hornsby Town Centre Review aims to revitalise the Hornsby Town Centre to make it a more liveable, green, and accessible centre for the community. The Review will look at how Council can strengthen the economic, employment and housing capacities of the Centre and enhance its public domain, accessibility, safety, and environmental sustainability. Please visit the Hornsby Town Centre page for more information.