Section 40A of the Local Government Act (the Act) states that a Public Hearing is required if the proposed Plan of Management “would have the effect of categorising, or altering the categorisation of, community land”.

Community land within Westleigh Park is proposed to be categorised as:

• Sportsground
• Natural Area (Bushland)
• General Community Use.

Under the Act, a further public hearing for a proposed plan of management must be held if Council decides to amend the proposed plan after a public hearing and the amendment of the plan would have the effect of altering the categorisation of community land from the categorisation of that land in the proposed plan that was considered at the previous public hearing.

The Local Government Act states that Public Hearings are to be conducted in such manner as is determined by the council, subject to the LG Act and the regulations.

It must be presided over by a person who is not a councillor or employee of the council holding the public hearing.

The Public Hearing is a forum for the community to seek clarification or ask questions on elements of the draft Plan of Management in order to gain a better understanding prior to making a submission.

The Public Hearing on Tuesday 4 April at the Hornsby RSL will run for two hours, during which there will be a short presentation followed a Q&A session moderated by the independent facilitator.

Ground rules for the session include:

• Three minute time limit for each question/clarification
• Questions will be taken from the floor by a show of hands
• Comments and questions about the draft Plan of Management will be recorded by a note taker and summarised in the Public Hearing Report but they will not be considered formal submissions
• No additional questions by an individual can be asked until everyone in the room has had an opportunity to ask their first question.
• No photographs or recordings allowed

Comments made at the Hearing are registered by a note taker but they will not be considered formal submissions. Formal submissions are lodged via the Submission Form on this page or

• in writing to Hornsby Shire Council, PO Box 37 Hornsby, NSW 1630 marked Westleigh Park Draft Plan of Management
• by emailing hsc@hornsby.nsw.gov.au

To make the session as equitable as possible in terms of speaking and asking questions, we are asking the community to register their attendance at the Public Hearing, however we are not asking for attendees to register to speak. There will be a three minute time limit for questions/comments.

Formal submissions can be lodged via the Submission Form at the bottom of the project page, or by

• writing to Hornsby Shire Council, PO Box 37 Hornsby, NSW 1630 marked Westleigh Park Draft Plan of Management
• emailing hsc@hornsby.nsw.gov.au

Submissions can be made until Sunday, 23 April 2023 and do not need to be made ahead of the Public Hearing.

The independent facilitator presiding over the Public Hearing is required by the Act to provide a report summarising the content of the Hearing.

The report must be made available to the public no later than 4 days after it is received by Council.

Council must consider the report before making any decision on the draft Plan of Management.

The Public Hearing is being held to satisfy a requirement of the Local Government Act and is specifically for the draft Plan of Management for Westleigh Park. It is not a forum for discussing matters relating to the draft Master Plan.

Council has completed extensive public consultation on the draft Master Plan and the current draft which has been published for comment includes revisions informed by the latest round of consultation.

Comments relating to the draft Master Plan can be made up to Sunday, 9 April 2023 on the Westleigh Park Draft Master Plan project page.