Community Project Proposals

How to formally propose a community project to Council.

The Community Project Proposal (CPP) Procedure provides information to volunteer and community groups on how they can formally propose projects to Council. The application and procedure ensure that all aspects of working on public land (council owned or managed) and delivering projects soundly are considered, for major and minor project proposals.

In considering proposals, particularly those that are larger or complex, staff and Councillors need to be able to understand:

Is it related to an existing asset or proposing to build a new asset (there needs to be clear information / reasons / justification and cost benefit for new assets)
What is the cost, what was the basis for the costing (quotes, similar recent project etc.)?
What is the proposed asset life? Will it be renewed (this relates to asset depreciation costs)?
What operations and maintenance will be needed to keep the asset serviceable and what is the estimated cost (how / who will undertake maintenance, how were costs determined)?
What other stakeholders will be involved or need to be aware (landowners / agencies / user groups / neighbours etc.). Have they been consulted? Are they supportive? (provide letters of support).
Demonstrate capacity to complete the project.

The CPP procedure is a step in demonstrating Council support for works on Council managed/owned land. Formal Council endorsement demonstrates consideration by the applicant and Council of project aspects including planning, design and standards, accessibility, heritage, the environment, site management and safety, stakeholder and neighbour consultation, resourcing and asset management.

Project Scale and Complexity

There is a wide range of projects that come to Council through the Community Project Proposal process. They can range from park furniture replacement to major infrastructure projects. Projects can be considered Minor or Major.

Minor Projects

Minor Projects are proposals that are considered straight forward. They are of lower value, are directly related to repairs or renewals of existing assets or are directly related to planned works. For these types of minor projects, letters of ‘in principle’ support are often provided to applicants with General Manager approval to enable them to progress with grant funding applications. Approval is delegated to the relevant Director which helps groups to proceed with those straightforward proposals works in a timely manner, taking approximatey four - six weeks to process. Some examples include Tathra Skatepark repairs, Bermagui cricket nets upgrade, water bubblers at Pambula & Bega River, memorial seats, swimming pool covers and starting block renewals and goal post upgrades at various sportsgrounds.

Major Projects

Major Projects are projects that are complex, create new asset/s, will result in changed use or amenity, and/or will require resourcing and support from Council, and/or contain barriers for delivery such as planning requirements and approvals (REF, AHIPS, permits, native title and due diligence assessments). Some examples include Merimbula basketball/netball courts, Merimbula Lake Street Walk, Tathra Headland Walk, Evans Park amenity block (Kalaru) and Lawrence Park building upgrade.

Major Projects	Minor projects
If the project is a new asset	Related to repairs of existing assets
Results in change of use or amenity	Related to renewals of existing assets
Require resourcing and support from Council	Directly related to planned works
Includes barriers of delivery such as; Planning requirements REF AHIPS Native title Due diligence	Funding and resourcing by the applicant
Complex projects	Lower value cost projects

Reporting/ Assessment of CPP’s

At the Council meeting on 12 May 2021 Council resolved that Community project proposals are managed by:

Minor projects continue within the current process with initial assessment by Council officers with approval delegated to the relevant Director (4 - 6 week process).
Major projects are considered and included within the development and consultation of the annual operational plan (annually).

What this means is Community Project Proposals received for major projects will be considered by Council annually in conjunction with development of Council’s annual operational plan. This enables Council to consider the resource requirements of proposed major projects in conjunction with other planned and programmed works.

Read Council’s Procedure Management of Public Reserves – Procedure 1.08.03 Community Project Proposal which can be viewed in Council’s: Policy and Procedure Register

Apply online

Please contact the Sport and Recreation Officer on 6499 2283 for more information.