After tireless efforts for more than 12 months, the Lake Cathie Progress Association is ready to sign off on the township’s Master Plan for the next five years.
Top concerns of residents that need to be addressed immediately include the dire state of roads and footpaths and the condition of the estuary, it was revealed.
A whopping 683 residents responded to a detailed survey comprising 115 questions on community and infrastructure priorities that was issued by the Association in January last year.
Association secretary Jack Jones said collation began mid-year, and finally the results are in.
“During the past year, Lake Cathie Progress Association’s executive worked hundreds of hours compiling the 2010 Master Plan which is an update of the original year 2000 Plan,” Mr Jones said.
“A sub-committee, under the leadership of president Rob Tate, firstly conducted a major Survey in the village.
“The results of the survey were the basis for the current Plan which includes recommendations and priorities to resolve issues identified by the community as in need of attention.
“The new Plan will provide the Association’s executive with goals to achieve over the coming years.”
Mr Jones said the Master Plan had been submitted to Port Macquarie-Hastings Council’s (PMHC) hierarchy for action.
Of grave concern, he said, was that the upgrading of Ocean Drive, which runs through the centre of the town, had been put on Council’s backburner until 2017/18, with a completion date somewhere in the vicinity of 2035.
“That’s not exactly proactive and we need to have this addressed, among other immediate concerns, a lot sooner,” he said.
“We would like to see funds being allocated to Lake Cathie now.”
Independent Member for Port Macquarie, Peter Besseling, praised the efforts of the Lake Cathie Progress Association in keeping its village Master Plan relevant for the community.
“It’s been 10 years since the original Master Plan was adopted, detailing the village’s needs and ambitions, but master plans are living documents which need to be constantly revised to maintain their community significance and to reflect new trends and aspirations,” Mr Besseling said.
“The Lake Cathie Progress Association is an extremely proactive group which deserves recognition for undertaking such an important review, one that has been developed through close consultation via surveys, submissions and general local feedback.
“The 2010 Lake Cathie Master Plan is a valuable resource, particularly for local and state governments, because it removes the guess work in assessing what is a priority for the community and what is not.
“Be it the Googik Track, an EIS on Lake Innes or planning for a future police station and primary school, the Master Plan tells us clearly what the community wants and why.
“Congratulations to everyone who took the time to answer the survey questions, and to the volunteers who worked hundreds of hours compiling the data and preparing the plan.”
The Plan will be put forward at the Association’s AGM on Sunday.
“Once it’s adopted it will be a live document which we can always work on,” he said.
The Plan will be available in printed form or on CD at the Association’s AGM on February 13 or can be downloaded from the website  www.lakecathiepa.comand go to Village Master Plan.
