Draft plan to protect Aboriginal cultural heritage
Published on 24 May 2024
Property development decisions will be better informed on the back of a proposed management plan for Aboriginal cultural heritage across the Coffs Harbour local government area (LGA).
The plan is supported by an online Aboriginal cultural heritage map developed and endorsed by the NSW Government, which identifies known and predictive Aboriginal cultural heritage.
At its meeting on 23 May, Council resolved to put the draft Coffs Harbour Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Management Plan on display for public comment.
A proposed amendment to the City’s Development Control Plan will also be on exhibition for feedback for a minimum of 28 days.
“This Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Management Plan will help ensure that cultural heritage is valued and considered as early as possible in the planning process,” City of Coffs Harbour Deputy Mayor Cr Sally Townley said.
The City has developed the management plan in consultation with the local Aboriginal community.
“If adopted, the new plan will assist the development industry,” City of Coffs Harbour City Planning and Communities Director Chris Chapman said.
In 2016, the NSW Government initiated an Aboriginal cultural heritage mapping process for the Coffs Harbour LGA on behalf of the City through a memorandum of understanding.
The map was finalised in 2018, and provided to the City for its interim internal use until a cultural heritage management plan was prepared and put in place by the City to guide the use of the map.
If the final management plan is adopted by Council, the map will be hosted on the City’s website and will be publicly accessible.
The map 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.
In processing development proposals, a management plan would see City staff consult with the Coffs Harbour and District Local Aboriginal Land Council.
“The framework has been designed to ensure that normal development assessment timeframes are not impacted by this process,” Mr Chapman said.
“At its heart, the draft plan aims to prevent an impact to Aboriginal cultural heritage by establishing early consultation processes with the Land Council. The draft plan will also inform and guide proponents of development in the scoping/designing phase.”