FAQs

Following the introduction of the Crown Land Management Act (CLM) 2016, Council was appointed Crown Land Manager for many Crown reserves, including Echo Point Crown Reserve No. 1002868.

The CLM Act requires Council to manage the Crown Reserves as public lands in accordance with the Local Government Act 1993. The Council is required to:

•    Classify the land as operational or community land;

•    Assign categories to the community land; and

•    Develop and adopt Plans of Management (PoMs) for the Crown Reserves classified as community land

A Plan of Management is a document that must address the essential requirements of the LG Act. It describes the current condition and use of the site, permits or prohibits activities and manages use including utilising leases, licences or other estates. It describes how the sites are currently managed according to each appropriate category. 

Community Land Management Guidelines have also been written to provide background information on strategic planning, policies and other council documents that also more generally inform the management of public land.

A Public Hearing is not required for the draft PoM for Echo Point Crown Reserve No. 1002868. Crown Lands as landowner has reviewed and endorsed categories for this site. Any future proposed changes to these Crown endorsed land categories will require a public hearing process, as defined by the LG Act.

This PoM is intended to formalise existing use arrangements within specific parcels of Echo Point Crown Reserve No. 1002868. 

This draft PoM is not a Masterplan. It is not a precinct wide document. This PoM is specific to the current use and management of the crown land parcels in Crown Reserve No. 1002868 as defined by the LG Act.

The PoM excludes the Plaza ‘Lookout building’ and surrounding National Parks and Wildlife Service parcels, which are captured in a separate NPWS PoM. Further, it also excludes road reserves and carparking external to the boundaries of the Echo Point Crown Reserve No. 1002868 parcels.

The Draft PoM is intended as an interim document to help Council be currently compliant with the Crown Land Management Act (CLM) 2016.

A precinct plan will be undertaken by Council in the coming years to review and wholistically plan the evolution of the wider Eco Point precinct with more comprehensive community consultation on any proposed and significant changes to the site and the way the site is managed. 

A new PoM will then need to be updated, re-exhibited and adopted through consultation with Crown Lands to support any proposed changes made in the future Precinct Plan.

The draft document being now placed on public exhibition in August/ September 2025 provides opportunity for community comment and submissions. Following the exhibition process, all submissions will be reviewed and potential changes considered. Updated documents and reports on the submissions received during the Public Exhibition will be then sent to the Minister for approval before then returning to Council for consideration and adoption. If alterations made to the document are significant enough to change the intent of the document, the draft PoM may need to be put back on public exhibition.

Once adopted, all plans will be publicly available on the BMCC website. When the project is completed, Council will have a current comprehensive and coordinated series of plans for Council and Crown community land that meet current legislative requirements.