Draft Plan of Management for Teralba Reserve

The Local Government Act (1993) requires Councils to prepare Plans of Management (POM) for all land classified as community land. All public land is required to be classified as either 'community land' or 'operational land'. The Local Government Act allows for generic plans of management that cover a range of community land across the City, and for specific plans of management that cover a specific area of community land, such as Teralba Reserve.

Teralba Reserve is located on community land and is therefore required to be included in a plan of management under the Local Government Act 1993. The process for creating, categorising community land, consulting, exhibiting and adopting a plan of management is specified in the Local Government Act. The plan of management is an enabling high-level document that acts as an agreement with the community on how the reserve is managed, developed and its values protected. It includes a management framework and actions to achieve the objectives of the plan. The plan of management includes both the cemetery and playground area.

The Teralba Cemetery Conservation Strategy was finalised in 2019 and includes only the Teralba Cemetery. This strategy is far more detailed in the analysis of the cemetery site and includes detailed history, archival reports, archaeological reports and extensive community consultation. The strategy includes more detailed specific actions and recommendations on how to protect the cultural and heritage fabric of the cemetery and follows the Burra Charter process.

The draft Teralba Reserve Plan of Management does not aim to duplicate the strategy, but is instead consistent with the strategy and supports the aims of the strategy through the recognition of the heritage of the cemetery site, the appropriate categorisation of the cemetery and broad actions that ensure compliance with the strategy.

The Local Government Act 1993 requires all land owned by Council which is classified as community land to be categorised.  Community land may be categorised into one of the following categories;

• natural area
• sportsground
• park
• area of cultural significance
• general community use

Community land categorised as natural area is to be further categorised as one or more of the following:

• • bushland
  • foreshore
  • watercourse
  • wetland
  • escarpment

The Teralba Cemetery has been categorised as ‘an area of cultural significance’ while the playground area has been categorised as ‘park’. See the map below for the categorisation applied.

The core objective of an ‘area of cultural significance’ is to:

• retain and enhance the cultural significance of the area (namely its Aboriginal, aesthetic, archaeological, historical, technical or research or social significance) for past, present or future generations by the active use of conservation methods.

The core objectives for ‘park’ are to:

• encourage, promote and facilitate recreational, cultural, social and educational pastimes and activities, and
• provide for passive recreational activities or pastimes and for the casual playing of games, and
• improve the land in such a way as to promote and facilitate its use to achieve the other core objectives for its management.

The public hearing will be held on Tuesday 17 December 2024 from 6pm-7pm at the Landcare and Sustainable Living Centre, Umali barai-ku, located at 80 Toronto Road Booragul.

Under Section 40A of the Local Government Act 1993 Council must hold a public hearing regarding the proposed categorisation of community land. 

The public hearing is an opportunity to provide feedback specifically on the categorisation of land.  General feedback on the draft Teralba Reserve Plan of Management should be made by a submission (online, email or written), as the public hearing will not record general feedback.  Note: Public hearings regarding categorisation or re-categorisation of community land are not related to reclassification. Reclassification is when community land is re-classified as operational land that can then be managed differently and has the ability to be sold by Council. Community land is protected under the Local Government Act and cannot be sold.

The Act sets out ‘core objectives’ for each of the categories and sub-categories.  The core objectives outline the approach to management of the land covered by the particular category.

The Teralba Cemetery has been categorised as ‘an area of cultural significance’ while the playground area has been categorised as ‘park’. See the map below for the categorisation applied.

The core objective of an ‘area of cultural significance’ is to:

• retain and enhance the cultural significance of the area (namely its Aboriginal, aesthetic, archaeological, historical, technical or research or social significance) for past, present or future generations by the active use of conservation methods.

The core objectives for ‘park’ are to:

• encourage, promote and facilitate recreational, cultural, social and educational pastimes and activities, and
• provide for passive recreational activities or pastimes and for the casual playing of games, and
• improve the land in such a way as to promote and facilitate its use to achieve the other core objectives for its management.

Submissions must be made in writing and received by 31 January 2025.  You can choose to:

• Provide written feedback via the online submission form on this website
• Email [email protected] with the subject heading 'Draft Teralba Reserve Plan of Management'
• Write to Lake Macquarie City Council Attn: Recreation and Land Planning, Box 1906, Hunter Region Mail Centre, NSW, 2310.

Hard copies of the draft Plan of Management are available to view at Speers Point Library and Toronto Library.

Feedback may result in changes being made to the draft Teralba Reserve Plan of Management prior to a report being prepared for Council.

You will be notified again, prior to Council considering the matter, which will include a link to the Council report containing a summary of submissions and how feedback was considered.