A vision for the planning, design and management of the Manly centre has been captured in a draft place plan called My Place: Manly. This plan identifies actions to address the current and future needs of the residents, workers, and visitors of the Manly centre.

My Place: Manly has been developed over 18 months with Council, consultants and the 15-strong Manly Project Working Group comprising representatives from the Manly Business Chamber, Youth Advisory Group, local resident associations, local businesses and special interest groups. This collaboration formed the basis of the plan and its comprehensive list of actions to be implemented across the next 10 to 15 years.  

Mayor Sue Heins said the draft place plan presents an overview of what we know about Manly now and how we envisage it may change over the next 15 years.  

“My Place: Manly details the heritage, economy, land use, community demographics and visitor information to guide how we want Manly to evolve in the future.

“Manly is the gateway into the Northern Beaches. It is not only a world-renowned tourist destination with its beautiful beachside location, but it is also an ideal location for events and has an eclectic mix of waterfront restaurants, bars and laneways bustling with cafes and independent traders.

“Manly’s natural and commercial offerings contribute to the local economy, culture and community of the Northern Beaches and its night-time economy is an integral part of this plan.

“In 2022/23, $337 million was spent in Manly. Of this 52% was spent during the hours of 6pm to 6am. This contribution is significant and warrants investment into the future vibrancy of the Manly centre.”

The objectives of the place plan project are to:

• Work with the community to create a vision and subsequent plan for Manly to align changes to ensure Manly is vibrant, safe, inclusive, and sustainable now and into the future.
• Deliver a Night-Time Economy Strategy for Manly and principles to adopt across the Northern Beaches Local Government Area into the future.
• Deliver and implement a place plan that responds to the outcomes and recommendations of existing strategic documents, as well as the Night-Time Economy Study commissioned for this project.

Four key places are the focus for activation including The Corso, Sydney Road, Pittwater Road, and several laneways (Market Place, Rialto Lane, Henrietta Lane, Central Avenue and Short Street Plaza).

The key places are locations critical to how Manly works, its synergies with other businesses and the local community’s connection and interaction with Manly as a place.

Would you like to view the plan and make comment? Community engagement for the plan opens early October. Sign up to Your Say for all the latest project updates. Submissions will close on the 19 November. The outcomes of the exhibition will be reported back to Council for consideration.