Nellie Oldham - 14 November 2023

Nellie Oldham presented to Council at the Public Access Session on 3 October 2023.

Ms Oldham presented to Council regarding beautification of Batemans Bay. No presentation was provided.

Ms Oldham's presentation can be viewed on Eurobodalla Shire Council's live streaming website

Council's reply

As both the Kings and Princes Highway are under the control of Transport for NSW (TfNSW), the signage, landscape design and consideration of the line of sight for motorists along these roads is determined by this Department. Although maintenance of this area is under Council’s management, any proposal to introduce alternate landscape design would be a matter for TfNSW.

Signage under control of Council is based on - ESC-Wayfinding-and-Tourism-Signage Strategy. This strategy guides Council’s decision making and has been utilised extensively throughout our Shire. For example, in the past 12 months, in excess of 90 new directional signs were installed including those providing direction to our beaches.

Regarding the use of native plants on our reserves, Council has a position of utilising bush friendly and water-wise species in public gardens. The use of these plants decrease impacts on our environment, reduce water use and are low maintenance. The selection of native species include many flowering local plants such as flax lillies, guinea flowers, dwarf banksias, bottle brush, lilly pillies, etc. These plantings align with Council’s ongoing education program about bush friendly and water wise gardens. We acknowledge that native plants may not be as colourful as annuals or other exotics however, they are drought tolerant, are not hazardous to pedestrians or cars and provide a food source for bees and native bird species.

Many beautification projects have been undertaken throughout our Shire, with many of these a result of the Batemans Bay Bridge replacement project. Some of the recent beautification projects in Batemans Bay include:

  • foreshore upgrades for both northern and southern sections of the Clyde River
  • picnic and barbeque shelters
  • portable dining pods
  • new planted areas
  • a new toilet block
  • children’s parks
  • murals
  • interpretative signage with information about the Aboriginal and European heritage of Batemans Bay and the significance of the old bridge
  • boat ramp upgrades with new stairs being constructed in the vicinity of both ramp, providing people access to the sandy beach and water
  • a floating jetty
  • seating and
  • car parks.

Pathways and green space along the waterfront provide access to facilities and restaurants, whilst offering views of the Clyde River, its foreshores and islands.

In terms of promotion of tourism in the Eurobodalla, a number of businesses act as tourism ambassadors for our Shire and these businesses stock brochures and are a wealth of information for our visitors; they also enjoy the additional patronage from people enquiring on our region. In Batemans Bay CBD alone, there are five businesses that stock a range of visitor information.

For your information, I have provided a link to Council’s Batemans Bay Waterfront Masterplan and Activation Strategy, Batemans-Bay-Waterfront-Masterplan-and-Activation Strategy.pdf (nsw.gov.au). The roll-out of this Masterplan will provide a strategy to create memorable experiences for visitors to our waterfront.