We achieved further reductions in our development application processing times, including in the number of development applications exceeding 100 days. We were one of seven councils to receive endorsement from the Greater Sydney Commission for the Georges River Local Planning Statement (LSPS) 2040. The LSPS guides land use planning and the delivery of significant infrastructure over the next 20 years. We lodged the Georges River Local Environmental Plan (LEP) 2020 with the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment. The LEP 2020 was the first stage of a four-stage approach to preparing the comprehensive Georges River LEP. During the year our staff completed in excess of 61,000 service requests and responses to correspondence, and importantly, improved on all of our annual customer service results and satisfaction levels.
Future focussed service delivery
Our City Strategy and Innovation Directorate (CSI) continues to work towards positioning the LGA and Council as a strong and influential entity in Greater Sydney and NSW with a focus on innovation. The team’s ability to influence legislation and decisionmakers has generated opportunities for the city. Projects implemented by CSI this year include the adoption of: • Georges River 2050 – Leading for Change which sets a path for a better future, amplifies strengths, unlocks opportunities for Georges River and represents Council’s commitment to a future focused, ambitious city and a positive leader for change. •
Kogarah Health Education and Innovation Precinct – Investment Attraction, Vision and Strategy drives the economic expansion of the current Kogarah Health and Education Precinct by identifying the opportunities available to Council to attract business and investment, incentivise innovation and build long lasting strategic partnerships to support existing and future jobs.
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Hurstville Place Strategy – Heart of the City provides a vision, priority projects and key actions to achieve our goal of Hurstville becoming the heart of the city. The strategy presents priority projects to transform Hurstville CBD through innovative, economic, cultural and infrastructure improvement projects.
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Georges River Reputation Strategy strives to influence the knowledge and opinions of people who live both inside and outside the LGA.
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Georges River Advocacy Program.
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We released our Libraries 2030 Strategy to support the shift away from the traditional notion of a library as simply a place to borrow books. Our libraries house an extensive collection of online resources and play an important role as a central hub in our community for people to socialise, learn, create and engage.
I would like to thank Mayor Kevin Greene for his leadership during the challenges of the 2019/20 financial year. I would also like to thank our Councillors for their commitment to our community and their support during the year. Finally, I would like to thank the Executive Team for their commitment to business continuity and the accelerated adaptation of our service provision to keep the community and staff safe during this challenging year. The commitment of all Georges River Council staff towards prioritising our community and managing our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, while still staying focussed on our long-term vision has been commendable.
Gail Connolly General Manager Georges River Council
A leading, people-focused organisation delivering outstanding results for our community and city
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