Did you watch the ABC series ‘Old People’s Home for 4-year-olds’ and see its incredible benefits for both the young and senior participants?

If so you’ll have an insight into a new initiative being run in 2 of Council’s Early Learning Centres which seeks to connect the generations and promote positive health and education outcomes for young and old. If you are over 65 and would like to get involved in this intergenerational program, we’d love to hear from you.

Over the last 6 months we’ve had the difficult conversation with ratepayers about the growing gap in our maintenance budget thanks to huge inflationary pressures and cost shifting from other levels of government. A new report released last week by LGNSW found a whopping $1.5 billion a year is shifted from State and Federal governments onto local government – that’s costs for services councils have not been funded to deliver. That equates to almost $500 per ratepayer across the state – a significant amount that could otherwise be spent on roads, playgrounds, stormwater or sportsfields.

We echo LGNSW’s call for an end to cost shifting, a review of existing regulations and the introduction of a more realistic and fair funding system for local government.

Legacy is seeking volunteers to donate their time to sell badges, bears and other merchandise during Legacy Week. If you have time, volunteer 31 August – 6 September – this helps raise awareness and vital funds to assist the families who have sacrificed so much for our country. For more information about volunteering, please visit the Legacy Week website or contact Heather Milnes at Northern Beaches Legacy on 0419 481 054.

The Mind Café in Narrabeen, which is an integral part of our community and helps so many, has a fundraiser coming up. Show your support by attending their Rock the Mind night.

Finally, a reminder the community grants program is taking applications. Whether you're a not-for-profit, community group, artist, event organiser or business, the grants program aims to support your initiatives. Time is running out so apply for a grant now.

Have a great weekend,

Mayor Sue Heins

With school holidays well underway it's fantastic to have two new playgrounds open for action.

Brick Pit Reserve at Frenchs Forest has been pumping since the fences came down late last week with hundreds of families trying out the new playground, boardwalk and picnic facilities.

This vibrant new space not only offers quality playtime but also pays tribute to the site's rich history. The park sits on the site of a once-thriving brickworks factory that operated from the late 1800s until World War I. Run by William Hews – the first permanent resident of Frenchs Forest – the factory produced bricks using clay sourced directly from the site, transporting them by horse and dray to Manly, Narrabeen and across the Spit, where they were loaded onto a punt and shipped to Mosman and the city.

Thanks to the NSW Government for funding this great new public open space which will serve generations to come as the Frenchs Forest Town Centre comes to fruition in the years ahead.

The Michaela Howie playground on Dee Why Beach has also had a makeover with new swing sets, play structures, climbing frames and boat. It was lovely to spend time at the launch this week with some of the family of Michaela, only 15 months old when she tragically lost her life in 2004. It was heartening to hear her family reflect on the comfort they find in seeing children laughing and playing in a space that honours her memory more than 20 years on.

If you’ve explored the two new playgrounds and are still looking for more to keep the kids entertained – check out the school holiday survival guide. You'll find workshops, shows, craft, marine adventures and even giant inflatables at the aquatic centres.

Have a great weekend,

Mayor Sue Heins

A huge shout out to all the SES volunteers, Council crews and other emergency services this week for their dedication to keeping our community safe under very challenging weather conditions.

The forecast on Monday was pretty dire with destructive winds, heavy rainfall and huge swells to hit the coast on Tuesday. By Tuesday afternoon the SES had issued an alert covering Collaroy to Bulli to stay indoors due to the potentially harmful conditions.

Council crews assisted on the ground with fallen trees, drainage clearances, lagoon entrance clearing, Manly Dam water releases, road and traffic issues and ongoing monitoring and sharing of flood and storm models. Many of our emergency response team and crews worked throughout the night to respond to incidents.

We were fortunate that most community infrastructure weathered the storm and came out undamaged.

Our attention is now on ensuring the clean-up is completed as quickly as possible.

I have had some great feedback on the Northern Beaches Emergency Dashboard – a fantastic one stop shop for local weather, traffic, alerts and power outages during emergencies. I’d encourage everyone to bookmark it for future use.

Finally, it’s NAIDOC Week, a national celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, culture and heritage. You can get involved with one of Council’s NAIDOC Week events or learn more on the official NAIDOC Week website.

Have a great weekend,

Mayor Sue Heins

Happy 40th birthday to Glen Street Theatre!

Nestled in the heart of Belrose, the theatre was first envisioned by the Forest Community Association with support and funding from what was then Warringah Shire Council. The Forest Community Association continued to be instrumental in the theatre’s development for decades and today Glen Street Theatre really stands as a testament to local passion and community spirit.

The theatre now hosts over 200 performances and events each year attracting over 65,000 theatre goers. In the coming months alone, it will host kid’s shows Gruffalo’s Child and Beetle, a Chinese hypnotist, comedian Ross Noble, iconic Australian author Kate Grenville and tributes to Pink Floyd, The Eagles, Carol King, Dolly Parton, Fleetwood Mac and Simply Red, to name a few.

The venue also provides an important venue for local performances such as Sydney North Public Schools Dance Festival, which has found a home at Glen Street Theatre for more than 30 years and is a highly sought after ticket by local parents and friends.

If you haven’t been for a while, I encourage you to check out what’s on at Glen Street Theatre. It’s a fantastically intimate venue with affordable tickets offering a very diverse program and we are extremely fortunate to have such a facility here on our doorstop.

As part of the 40th anniversary, Glen Street is collecting memories and moments over its 40 year history. If you have a favourite memory, anecdote or story we’d love you to share it.

Our Winter warming festival, Rise Manly, wraps this weekend so make sure you get down there to experience all on offer. The Corso and laneways are hosting live street performances and light installations, and the shops, restaurants and bars are full of special entertainment and events. Check out the Rise Manly program.

Have a great weekend,

Mayor Sue Heins

With over 1,300 potholes reported since January, this year’s wet weather has really taken a toll on our roads and footpaths and these are some of the main issues raised with me by our community.

That’s why the 2025/26 Budget endorsed this week includes a major $28.8 million investment in roads and footpaths - to give additional focus to getting repairs done quickly and accelerate the delivery of new ones.

Overall, more than $105 million will be invested in capital works projects in the coming financial year across the Northern Beaches – in improving our parks, beaches, rockpools, playgrounds, libraries and town centres.

Plus we continue to find savings with over $2 million earmarked to save in 2025/26. And we continue to pay down loans with an additional $2.4 million.

The budget includes the IPART approved rate increase of 12.1% in 2025/26, securing financial stability for Council now and into the future. The typical residential ratepayer will pay an additional $42 per quarter or $168 per year. For the third of our residents who pay the minimum rate, the increase will be $33 per quarter or $133 per year.

The additional funds raised will be used to address the maintenance backlog and ensure we can keep all our assets in good shape.

Read the news story to see more budget highlights and savings.

Rise Manly kicks off tonight with a fantastic array of winter warming activities for the next 10 days. The Corso and laneways will be buzzing with live street performances, light installations and artworks. Local shops, restaurants, bars, cafes, fitness and wellness businesses will be hosting plenty of in-venue fun. See the full Rise Manly program.

Finally, as part of our ongoing focus on supporting local small business, we are holding 2 sessions in the coming weeks for local tradies either looking to start or grow their own businesses. You’ll hear from other local tradies, get expert advice and tips and make connections with others. Register your interest.

Have a great weekend,

Mayor Sue Heins

The 2025 Northern Beaches Local Business Awards are a fantastic opportunity to recognise the dedication and innovation of our local businesses. This year, there were over 2,200 applicants, 323 finalists and over 11,200 community votes, demonstrating the strong support for businesses across our area.

Council is proud to be a partner in this event, sponsoring 2 key categories that reflect our commitment to fostering a more inclusive and environmentally conscious business landscape. Congratulations to the winners of these categories! NeuroEdge, founded by Kate Halpin, received the Disability Inclusion Award for helping organisations create environments where neurodivergent individuals can thrive. Envirotecture, led by Andy Marlow, won the Business Sustainability Award for leadership in sustainable architecture, including pioneering carbon-neutral and hempcrete construction.

A shout out to all the finalists and winners – we are so fortunate to have such a diverse and exceptional small business community.

When we started the trial to allow 24/7 access to Forestville Library back in 2022, we could not have predicted how successful it would be. With 80,000 visits to the library after hours since the trial first started and patrons travelling from across the Northern Beaches to access it, introducing a second location is the obvious next step.

This week Council launched a 24/7 trial for Manly Library. Library members aged 16 and over can access books, study spaces, Wi-Fi and more outside regular library hours. You need to register your interest and attend an onsite induction to get access. And we’d love you to provide feedback during the trial period. 

Finally, if you have a chance, be sure to catch the latest exhibition at Manly Art Gallery and Museum, Welcome to Wherever You Are. I was fortunate enough to attend the launch last week and the works are diverse and thought provoking – I highly recommend a visit. It’s on until 27 July.  A shoutout to our local businesses who have supported our international visiting artists, I am proud of how you are always looking to help.

Have a great weekend,

Mayor Sue Heins

There is plenty of work going on across the area, with some great new community infrastructure almost complete or well underway.

A brand new park at Brick Pit Reserve in Frenchs Forest is nearly ready to open. Complete with a playground, boardwalk through the trees and other facilities, the new park provides an opportunity for current and future residents of the town centre and Northern Beaches Hospital patients and their families to play and relax in a revitalised natural setting. In addition, a favourite playground at Dee Why Beach will soon be reopened after a major upgrade, offering fantastic facilities for local families.

Council has begun work on the new section of boardwalk connecting South Curl Curl Beach to Fisherman’s Walk, adding a link that enables walkers to avoid the busy car park on this popular path.

The new sporting amenities and facilities at Pittwater Rugby Park and Frank Gray Reserve at North Curl Curl are both expected to open later this year. Work has also commenced on the renewal of Aquatic Reserve, which, despite the rain, is still expected to be completed in time for the summer baseball season.

Preparatory work is underway for new squash and tennis facilities at North Manly, part of the broader plan to upgrade this area into a state-of-the-art sporting hub alongside the new golf clubhouse and gymnastics centre.

And the Warriewood Community Centre now has the roof on and is almost ready for fit out, with the corresponding road upgrade in the pipeline.

The upgrade on the Manly to Spit Walk is half-way through, with phase 1 reopening this week and phase 2 starting after the long weekend. And a major lighting upgrade for Manly Boy Charlton Aquatic Centre is due to start next month.

We’ll keep the community posted on all these important projects - stay tuned.

Finally, in good news this week, the NSW Government listened to our advocacy and announced they will continue to fund their Beachwatch program. They had previously said they’d be asking local councils to help pick up the tab to keep locals informed on beach water quality. Great to see common sense prevail.

Have a lovely and safe long weekend, don’t forget there are double demerits in force.

Mayor Sue Heins

This week we launched a fantastic new winter event, Rise Manly, offering 10 days of music, food and activities.

From 20–29 June, Manly’s shops, restaurants, bars, cafés, fitness and wellness businesses will offer an array of special events and experiences. The Corso and laneways will be buzzing with live street performances, light installations, artworks and more. Plus there's a European ski village complete with an inflatable igloo, an ice cold classic swim and plenty of delicious food options to choose from.

Check out the Rise Manly program, support your local businesses and start planning your visit now.

Congratulations to all the finalists in the 2025 Northern Beaches Environmental Art and Design Prize. No doubt it was a tough job for the judges to select 191 works from over 700 entries submitted. You'll get to view their works at art spaces across the Beaches in August – stay tuned for details.

There are several projects across the Northern Beaches currently out for community feedback and I encourage you to have your say. Those living in and around our town centres may be particularly interested in the proposed amendments to development control plans.

These have been proposed in response to the NSW Government housing reforms which allow more density and higher developments without appropriate controls for things like heritage, landscaping and set backs.

You can also review and give feedback on a new plan for Seaforth Oval, the draft Climate Change Policy, a policy for memorials and some additional accessible parking at Bilgola Beach. Register to follow specific projects and receive updates when key decisions are being made. We value all the input you provide – it improves our projects and service delivery.

Have a great weekend,

Mayor Sue Heins

It’s Volunteer Week! Australia has a huge volunteer community – over 14 million people giving 3.2 billion hours to help others. On the Northern Beaches, we’re lucky to have so many people supporting local charities, community, sporting and environmental groups, and essential services.

Here at Council, more than 900 volunteers contribute to 13 different programs. They deliver library books, restore our natural bushland, maintain cemetery gardens or assist visitors to enjoy the local area. A huge thank you to you, and all volunteers on the Northern Beaches, for all that you do.

The upcoming National Sorry Day, Reconciliation Week and Gai-mariagal Festival provide an opportunity to acknowledge and remember the Stolen Generation, celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island culture and significance and learn how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

Locally, you can join an Aboriginal Heritage Talk, weaving workshop or bushtucker tasting. We’ve had a great response to these events so far so get in quickly or join the waitlist if the event you want to attend is already booked out.

Finally, a shout out to the incredible young people who spoke at Have Your Say Day 2025 – a youth led initiative supported by Council and local youth services at NBSC Freshwater Senior Campus. Eighteen leaders from across the Northern Beaches came together and spoke to 8 issues identified in a comprehensive survey of over 2000+ local young people. It was an inspiring and thought-provoking event and I am constantly impressed to see the breadth of talent on display in our local young people.

Have a good weekend – stay dry! Here's hoping flood conditions on the mid north coast start to ease soon and our area has seen the worst of it.

Mayor Sue Heins