Update

Thank you everyone who participated in the consultation by completing a survey, providing a submission or having a conversation. We received 230 survey responses. All the feedback will be reviewed and considered as part of the strategy development.

There will be a further opportunity to provide feedback on the draft strategy later in the year. Stay tuned!

Background

Clarence City Council has 191km of coastline ranging from sandy beaches and rocky foreshores to urban esplanades and cliff tops. Our coastline is a key part of our identity and is highly valued by residents and visitors. Council is committed to improving access and inclusion at our beaches and foreshores so that everyone, regardless of age or ability, can enjoy the diverse range of recreational and lifestyle activities along our coast.

Council has commenced a project to develop a Coastal Access Strategy to guide planning and improvements for beach access to meet the diverse needs of the community. The Coastal Access Strategy will be a 10-year strategic document that will:

• develop a planning and decision-making framework to ensure inclusive access to our beaches, and
• inform our operational and strategic decisions for new beach access and upgrades to existing facilities, as well as establishing a list priority projects for funding and investment in coming years.

Your feedback about how you use and access our beaches is critical to the success of the Strategy!

We would love to understand how you, your family, the people you care for or work alongside currently access and enjoy our beaches and coast.

Consultation with our community and key user groups and stakeholders will be used to develop a draft Strategy by identifying the different needs of the entire community when visiting, experiencing and engaging with the coastline of Clarence. Everyone engages with the coast differently, from those who like to enjoy the view from a distance to those that want to cross the sand and into the water. Tell us what works and what doesn't work for you, what is missing and what we need to improve to support you to access these places.

How to have your say

There are multiple ways you can be involved in this project: Our Community Survey and any other feedback can be provided online, by email or post, over the phone or in person until May 10 2024:

• Click the link below to fill out the survey online.
• Email us to tell us more at yoursay@ccc.tas.gov.au and please feel free to include photos with your locations and ideas
• Call any of the people, teams or services listed in the 'Who's listening' panel.
• Visit us in person at 38 Bligh Street, Rosny Park, Tasmania 7018
• Come along to one of our Community Drop-in Sessions (see details in the 'Key Dates' section on the right)

Community feedback from our Beach Access Mat Trial at Bellerive Beach over the 2023/24 summer season can be foundhere. The overwhelmingly positive feedback from the trial is a strong starting point for this broader coastal access project.

Below are the beaches that are asked about specifically in the survey and there is also an opportunity to suggest other locations. We have included beaches managed by council and beaches that are managed by others in the survey:

Clarence Beach Access - Community Survey-final

We want to understand from you how we can better support people of all ages and abilities to enjoy greater access to the beach and water.

We very much appreciate you taking part in this survey to let us know your thoughts and ideas. We will ask a few questions and also give you spaces to share your reasons. At the end, we will ask a few general questions about you.

The Survey has now concluded.