Kempsey Shire Council released the design plans for the redevelopment project at the end of May and is calling for formal feedback submissions from the public.

Related content: Big future plans for Crescent Head with foreshore and village development draft plan on exhibition

A number of locals are concerned the proposed plans for the foreshore carpark include a reduction of parking spaces. A Facebook group titled 'Save Crescent Head Point Parking' was created after the plans were released.

Creator of the Facebook page, Joshua Dennis, said many locals don't want the foreshore to be changed.

"We held a community meeting a few weeks ago and the general consensus is people love it how it is," he told the Argus.

"The three proposals council has put forward for the foreshore carpark all include a reduction of parking spaces.

"The reduction in car parking will dramatically change the area," Joshua said.

The three proposed plans for the foreshore carpark include option A which would see a reduction of formal marked car spaces reduced from 110 to 96, option B would see a further reduction to 91 and option C includes a total 89 car spaces.

Kempsey Shire Council director Operations and Planning, Robert Fish, said locals should read through all of the plans before giving their feedback.

"Council counted the formal marked car spaces on the foreshore and included that number in the plans," he said.

"There are three alternative car park designs for the foreshore and each one does have a small reduction of parking spaces, but there is a lot of detailed information for people to have a look through and we do encourage locals to send in their feedback.

"The designs also include improvements to the Willow St parking area and parking in the village centre."

Joshua, a civil engineer by trade, said the number of parking spaces on the foreshore is higher than 110.

"There are 110 marked spaces, but there are more legal parking spots that people use every day in the foreshore carpark. I've counted the car parks myself and there's around 130 that people use and aren't booked. Reducing them to 96, which is the smallest reduction in the plans, is still a big loss," he said.

Council has confirmed in a statement that 'the figure of 110 existing car spaces refers to the number of formal, marked hardstand parking spots that exist, which have been calculated based on existing plans and aerial photography, as well as an on-the-ground physical count. After recent public queries, staff have returned and recounted the number of formal spaces and confirmed that figure of 110.'

When the Macleay Argus published the story announcing the plans were on public exhibition, there was a large response on Facebook.

One local wrote: "A dedicated foreshore for all the public to use rather than an eyesore of a carpark in prime position would be beautiful."

"The carpark along the point at Crescent head is an icon of Australian surfing and to change it would be criminal," another wrote.

Joshua praised council's designs for the village centre and agrees with creating more natural open spaces, but said the foreshore carpark should be left alone.

"Council have done a great job beautifying the town, the village does need a freshen up, but the foreshore carpark is an important part of the community," he said.

"It's iconic to park on the point and watch the surf."

Locals have questioned council using part of the Crescent Head Holiday Park along the foreshore to create open space or to use as parking, however this is not possible. In information provided by council, it stated: 'The current Holiday Park Management Agreement is in place until 2027, which also means no boundary alterations could be considered before then and that might result in missing out on possible opportunities to improve any of the foreshore spaces'.

At this stage there is no State or Federal Government funding for the project, but Mr Fish said it's important for locals to make formal submissions regarding the plans so council can deliver the project the community wants.

"In recent times we have found having plans finalised provides a good platform to seek funding," he said.

"At this point we are asking for community feedback, we will then go through all of the submissions and make changes to the plan details and further engage with the community before a final decision is made by councillors and funding for the project is sought."

The project has generated a significant amount of community interest with over 3000 visits to the site and 100 submissions already made.

Council has updated the Your Say Macleay site to address the questions that have come from the community concerning parking and the available footprint for the foreshore designs and to provide more background to the project and decision-making process.

Formal submissions regarding the Public Domain Project must be made in writing either by:

Making a submission through these methods will ensure your opinions are part of the evaluation completed before any recommendations are made to council.

Submissions close on July 1. Locals can find the draft plans and make a formal submission here.