THE Port Macquarie-Hastings community will enjoy a beachside amphitheatre and new play space thanks to earmarked funding to create a legacy of quality, green and accessible public space to be treasured for generations to come.
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Member for Port Macquarie, Leslie Williams announced over $1.5 million has been allocated to Port Macquarie-Hastings Council as part of the NSW Public Spaces Legacy Program.
"This is a wonderful result for our local community to see major improvements to local green spaces," Mrs Williams said.
"In Port Macquarie we will see $1.1 million allocated for a destination playspace at Westport Park and $450,000 for an amphitheatre at Town Beach.
"The program will create legacy public spaces for future generations as well as keep local people in jobs to ensure the local economy keeps moving as we continue to respond to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic."
To secure full funding for the project, council must continue accelerating assessment and determination of local development applications, which will have the additional benefit of bolstering the local construction pipeline through to 2023, Mrs Williams said.
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Rob Stokes said the funding being delivered to councils was reliant on them meeting agreed targets to speed up local development applications.
"This program is the first of its kind in NSW and reflects the State and local government working together to create a legacy of beautiful public spaces that communities can be proud of," Mr Stokes said.
"In exchange for legacy funding, councils participating in the program needed to speed up their assessment times.
"It's been great to see the unclogging of the planning system as part of this program - 42 of 53 planning proposals that had been stuck in the planning system for more than four years have been resolved and 161 of 168 regionally significant development applications have been cleared."
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