"Building Communities"  Pittwater Social Plan 2005 - 2009

On 13 December 2004 Council adopted a new Social Plan for Pittwater. This plan updated the 1999 Pittwater Social Plan.

The Social Plan can be downloaded in PDF format via the Document Links box at the end of this page or a copy can be posted to you. Please contact Council's Social Planner on 9970 1170 or email paul_hogan@pittwater.nsw.gov.au

What is a Social Plan?

A Social Plan describes the local community, summarised the key social issues facing it and recommends actions that Council could take to improve community wellbeing.

Background of Social Planning

The Local Government (General) Regulation 1999 requires all councils in NSW to develop a social plan to meet the needs of residents in their area. As well as being a legislative requirement, a Social Plan helps Council to monitor social trends, understand its community better and allocate resources where they are most needed.

How the Social Plan was Developed?

• The focus in developing the 2005-2009 Social Plan was on reviewing the existing plan and identifying new issues. The updating of the Social Plan involved the following:
• Compiling a profile of the Pittwater community
• Reviewing the strategies of the 1999 Social Plan
• Undertaking a needs assessment that considered the wellbeing of Pittwater residents in terms of social issues
• Identifying a number of priority social needs from the information provided by residents and service providers
• Developed a number of actions to address the issues raised in the Social Plan.

Pittwater's Vision

"To be leaders in the provision of local government services, to strive to conserve, protect and enhance the natural and built environment of Pittwater and to improve the quality of life for our community and future generations"

Social Plan - Themes

• Building Communities - is about belonging to a community, feeling connected and being able to participate in community life
• Supporting Neighbourhoods - is about supporting people who live in the area who may not enjoy all the benefits this community provides
• Healthy and Safe People - is about the people who live in the Pittwater community being healthy
• Living in Pittwater - is about people in Pittwater being able to get out in the community and access services

Social Plan - Actions

A five year action plan has been developed with 36 actions. To date the majority of action have been either completed, in progress or are on-going actions. Actions that have been worked on to date are:

• Work with young people to stage an annual youth arts/ entertainment event
• Consult with young people through an annual youth forum
• Run two Pittwater Women's Forums a year
• Participate in an annual event to celebrate Harmony Day
• Provide training for staff about how to engage with people who have difficulty communicating
• Promote the availability of multicultural resources in Mona Vale Library
• Provide assistance to Easy Care Gardening Service to run a seminar each year on planning and preparing an easy to manage garden
• Work with SHOROC Child Care Project to increase child care places for children aged 0-2 years on the Northern Beaches
• Promote information and services to assist people with disabilities
• Provide additional information to the community about local services and programs
• Assist Migrant Network Services with information about Council to include in the "Welcome to NSW" kit for newly arrived migrants
• Increase awareness of the range of activities available for frail older people
• Help establish a social group for active older people at Avalon
• Assist the Pittwater Community Drug Action Team to implement harm reduction strategies addressing drug and alcohol use by young people
• Include opportunities for youth health education at youth events in Pittwater
• Assist the Regional Violence Prevention Specialist to run a community education project in Pittwater about domestic violence
• Provide more seating in scenic and commercial areas
• Continue implementing a works program to maintain existing footpaths and build new footpaths
• Update information on accessible facilities once a year
• Continue to work with the Northern Beaches Affordable Housing Steering Committee to identify the social and economic implications of increasing housing costs.

Seeking facts & figures?

Should you be seeking Pittwater's statistics, please view the demographic information collected from previous Census information on Pittwater's Community Profile webpage.

Pittwater's Current population as of June 2006 (estimated between census periods) is 56,920.