COUNCIL voted unanimously at its 8 August meeting to adopt the Coffs Harbour Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Plan, an associated Cultural Heritage Map and an amendment to the Development Control Plan.

“This will provide greater clarity for the local Gumbaynggirr people, the City when delivering its projects, the broader community, and for proponents of building and development proposals,” City of Coffs Harbour City Planning and Communities Director Chris Chapman said.

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“This extensive body of collaborative work firms up how Aboriginal cultural heritage is considered as part of the City’s planning and assessment processes.”

The adopted management plan is supported by an online cultural heritage map developed by the NSW Government.

The map – which will be hosted on the City’s website and be publicly accessible – will be dynamic and likely to change over time, as more Aboriginal cultural heritage values are added, or removed where values are confirmed to not be present.

“The local Aboriginal community is committed to working with local stakeholders to ensure protection of local Aboriginal culture and heritage,” Coffs Harbour and District Local Aboriginal Land Council CEO Chris Spencer said.

“City of Coffs Harbour has developed the management plan in collaboration with the local Aboriginal community to ensure that cultural interests are protected for all members of the local community to enjoy as a community asset.”

In practice, Mr Chapman said the management plan will see City staff consult with the local Land Council when processing development applications.

“Normal development application timeframes will not be impacted by this process,” he said.