Greater Newcastle metropolitan planning

The Greater Newcastle Metropolitan Plan 2036 was launched on 17 September 2018.

As Australia’s seventh largest city and global gateway for northern NSW, Greater Newcastle faces a new future with investment in aviation, transport, education, health and tourism.

This first-ever metropolitan plan for Greater Newcastle, and first for a non-capital city in Australia, aims to capitalise on this investment through a collaborative approach.

The plan sets out strategies and actions that will drive sustainable growth across Cessnock City, Lake Macquarie City, Maitland City, Newcastle City and Port Stephens communities, which together make up Greater Newcastle.

The plan also helps to achieve the vision set in the Hunter Regional Plan 2036 – for the Hunter to be the leading regional economy in Australia with a vibrant new metropolitan city at its heart.

Australia’s newest and emerging economic and lifestyle city, connected with northern NSW and acknowledged globally as:

• dynamic and entrepreneurial, with a globally competitive economy and the excitement of the inner city and green suburban communities
• offering great lifestyles minutes from beaches or bushland, the airport or universities, and from the port to the lake
• a national leader in the new economy, with smarter cities and carbon neutral initiatives, and with collaborative governance that makes it a model to others in creating and adapting to change.

Read the plan

The Greater Newcastle Metropolitan Plan aligns with the vision and goals of the Hunter Regional Plan 2036 (PDF, 5.6 MB).