How would you revamp Forster Main Beach?
Published on 09 June 2017
It's a stunning location of natural beauty and wonder, with important heritage and history - a vibrant place which buzzes with many varied activities and people every day. It's one of the jewels in Forster's crown, but it's looking a little tired lately. MidCoast Council will soon be calling for everyone's input and ideas to rejuvenate the Forster Main Beach promenade, which includes an area from the Bullring Ocean Baths to the Forster Surf Club and incorporates North Street.
"Forster Main Beach is one of Northern NSW's iconic holiday locations and is certainly a hub for Forster residents and visitors of all ages" says Council's Manager of Property and Commercial Services, John Dougherty. "We want to start a conversation about how we use this area, what's important to us, and maybe how we'd like to improve it. This will lead to a clear plan that can be used to attract funding towards the project."
The Beach is one of Forster's most visited tourism sites and is equally important for local people too. Sporting events are regularly held here including the club events of the Forster Mud Crabs and Forster Turtles. Forster Surf Club is integral to the Main Beach area, providing lifesaving services and beach facilities for all users. Local cafes and restaurants are popular meeting places on the beachfront and attract large numbers of people to this popular spot.
Main Beach and its headlands are beautiful natural features of Forster's coastline and the area has strong cultural significance, with important Aboriginal and interesting post-European settlement sites.
Forster Surf Club President, John Quinn says "we are pleased to be working with MidCoast Council and the community to develop plans for the entire Main Beach area in conjunction with plans to redevelop the Surf Club. It's critical that the surrounding area integrates well with surf club activity and the natural beach processes".
Although Main Beach retains a certain charm (and sparks many treasured holiday memories for people from all over Australia and beyond), it is now looking a little dated and some facilities are struggling to meet modern needs. In addition, the Surf Club premises and associated Council building has reached the end of its useful life, and needs to be replaced in order to meet the demands of today's users.
"The first step towards rejuvenating the Main Beach area is to develop a Plan that meets community and visitor needs" says John Dougherty. "With that in mind, we'd like to start by thinking big and hearing everyone's ideas for how we could improve the whole streetscape and provision of facilities which support the many uses of the area.
"We're also not forgetting that it's very important that we consider the connectivity and improve access between the Main Beach and Wharf Street shopping area and other key locations that make up the Forster central district" adds John.
Once we know what our community would like to see at Main Beach, we will develop concept plans to present to the new incoming Council later this year. These Plans will be an essential element for Council to seek funding sources to realise the plan.
Watch this space for announcement of upcoming consultations so we can hear your ideas (big and small) for how you'd like to revamp the Main Beach area.