Council in the Spotlight

There was considerable media interest in the activities and initiatives undertaken by the City of Ryde in 2019/20, with Council receiving more than 800 media mentions. Of these, 36 percent were positive, 17 percent negative and 47 percent neutral.

The issues that attracted the most coverage were:

The New Heart of Ryde

Formal consultation on the new vision for the Ryde Civic Centre was undertaken by the City of Ryde in the first half of 2019/20. Described as ‘The New Heart of Ryde’, the vision endorsed by Council will deliver a four-fold increase in community facilities while retaining complete public ownership of the site.

Through the duration of the formal consultation, a number of community stakeholders voiced their support for The New Heart of Ryde, including schools, businesses and community organisations.

At the completion of formal consultation, 85 percent of respondents indicated that they supported the proposal and Council resolved to progress with the plans.

The tender to design and construct The New Heart of Ryde was subsequently awarded to Taylor Construction Group in May 2020.

The New Heart of Ryde community consultation

COVID-19 response

The City of Ryde took steps to support the community and ensure that essential Council services continued since the COVID-19 pandemic began at the start of 2020.

This included temporarily waiving and/or deferring a range of fees and charges for businesses, council's small business tenants, and community organisations. In addition, Council also introduced a new Financial Hardship Policy to provide financial relief to those in the community impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Council also introduced a range of tools to communicate changes to the community that were brought about as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This included the creation of the COVID-19 Hub on Council’s website which contained news, service updates, community support and frequently asked questions.

Events

The City of Ryde staged hundreds of events in 2019/20, many of which were delivered online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these events received significant media interest including the Granny Smith Festival, the inaugural West Ryde Summer Series, the Sustainable Waste 2 Art Prize (SWAP) exhibition and the Spring Garden Competition.

The City of Ryde also held a number of events to raise awareness of societal issues affecting some residents. This includes the first-ever City of Ryde No Excuse for Abuse march which brought together residents, businesses, workers and students in Macquarie Park and take a stand to end violence and abuse.

Heritage reforms

A range of reforms were endorsed by Council that provided stronger protections for items and areas of heritage significance across the local community. Under the reforms, more than 300 items now have various forms of heritage protections.