A revised plan for the South West Rocks Back Creek Foreshore carpark area has been adopted by Kempsey Shire Council.
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The initial plans for the area, designed by Royal HaskoningDHV in 2017, assisted council in seeking grant funding to deliver the upgrades over the last 18 months.
Although funding was awarded, a number of concerns with the design were raised, leading to a review by council staff.
The review included the refinement of parking areas, traffic flow, footpath connectivity and greenspace. The area of focus for the review was immediately around the Back Creek footbridge and amenities block.
Following community feedback and a review of the original plan, a revised concept design option was developed for the area in the immediate vicinity of the footbridge.
This option was then placed on public exhibition with council receiving 27 responses from the community online and two written submissions.
The revised concept design has been adopted with minor changes and feedback from residents will be considered in the design and construction phases of the project.
Councillors discussed the revised plan at Tuesday's council meeting and highlighted the need for this area to receive an upgrade.
"The community have put their views forward over many years saying they would like to see Back Creek improved," Councillor Anna Shields said.
"We have already had really positive results from the amenities block that has been installed and we look forward to this next stage being completed."
The adopted design includes:
- The removal of the roundabout
- Adding disabled parking to two locations
- Improving footpath connectivity
- Balancing parking with usable green space that includes picnic tables and barbecues
- Improving access for all users through a range of steps from accessible parking spots to amenities and formalised paths