Council to farewell GM Craig Wrightson

Published on 13 February 2025

Lane Cove Council’s General Manager, Craig Wrightson, has announced his resignation from Council this week following more than 20 years of service.

Having begun his career at Lane Cove in Corporate Services before rising to the General Manager role for the last 12.5 years, Craig’s leadership has fostered innovation and teamwork, allowing Lane Cove to punch well above its relative size in the local government sector. He has led the organisation through an era of transformation, creating a remarkable legacy for the Lane Cove community.

Under his leadership, Council has delivered many outstanding projects and initiatives that have shaped the Lane Cove community, including the award winning ‘The Canopy’, overseeing the delivery of Wadanggari Park (above the St Leonards railway line), improving sports facilities at Blackman Park and initiating the construction of the new sport and recreation facility, due for completion later this year. Craig has also been critical in securing additional open space and bushland as well as enabling the creation of a Council Sustainability division that is working to embed sustainability throughout Council’s projects and services.

“During his time at Council, Mr Wrightson has worked with Councillors and the community to drive award-winning projects and to deliver a robust capital works program. His leadership and strategic direction have focused on the delivery of infrastructure to keep up with the pace of population growth including new active transport links, improved recreation and sporting facilities, new early childhood education centres and cultural facilities.

Craig has been a highly respected and popular leader among staff. This was particularly evident during challenging times such as the potential amalgamation of local councils and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, one of Craig’s legacies will be a dedicated team of purpose-driven staff who will continue to work to advance sustainability, foster community connection, and provide outstanding service in Lane Cove” said Mayor of Lane Cove, Councillor Merri Southwood.

Mr Wrightson will leave Council on 4 April. Recruitment for a new General Manager will commence shortly, and in the interim, the Director of Corporate Services, Mr Steven Kludass, will act in the role to ensure continuity of leadership.

“On behalf of the entire organisation, I extend our sincere gratitude to Craig for his commitment to Lane Cove and wish him all the best for his next undertaking. He will leave a strong Council team that embraces an exciting vision for the future and the drive and expertise to implement it".

Highlights

Craig has made extensive contributions to the Lane Cove community. Central to his tenure at Council has been his focus on the ‘look and feel’ of Lane Cove. This includes actively supporting the expansion of music, cultural and neighbourhood events, which has seen thousands of events enjoyed by the community, including the ever-popular Food & Wine by the River event, along with regular programming of popular concerts at The Canopy.

Craig also oversaw a wide range of exciting projects and accomplishments including:

Lane Cove being voted the most Liveable place in Australia in the 2021 Australian Liveability Census (and second place in the 2023 Census)
Reimagining Lane Cove village including constructing The Canopy, an award-winning project which includes a world-class park, an iconic outdoor stage enjoyed by thousands of concert goers as well as destination dining, 500 underground parking spaces and two supermarkets, in the heart of Lane Cove
Renovation of Lane Cove Plaza and Longueville and Burns Bay Roads, with custom outdoor dining spaces, lighting, public art and landscaping
Enabling the vision to embed sustainability into aspects of council operations which was recently recognised in the Local Government NSW Excellence in Environment Awards, where Lane Cove took out three Awards, including the prestigious Local Sustainability Award for our programs to reduce emissions and towards net zero, innovation in the development process and planning through a revised Development Control Plan and implementing a holistic sustainability program
Delivering the vision to rejuvenate St Leonards including Friedlander Place, a new public Library and delivering desperately needed open space in the form of NSW Park of the Year ‘Wadanggari Park’ (built over the railway line at St Leonards), the first of its kind in Australia
Improving sports facilities at Blackman Park by creating all weather fields, new Scout Hall , LED Floodlights, café, off-leash dog area, accessible walking trail and skatepark. Other improvements include new lighting and a pavilion at Tantallon Oval, reconstruction of Bob Campbell Oval, sailing facilities in Longueville, and a boat ramp and jetty at Burns Bay Reserve
Creating the new Mindarie Park through negotiation of a strategic land swap with the Department of Housing resulting in a regional-scale, fully accessible playground and expanded open space for Lane Cove North along with the Stokes Street Early Childhood Education Centre and Community Centre
Facilitating the ongoing success of Lane Cove’s much-loved Library services including the new library at St Leonards, shared services to Hunters Hill and a library service ranked as number one in NSW for number of loans per capita
Expanding Lane Cove’s open space by 34,500 sqm including 17,500 sqm of bushland
Delivering Aquatic Centre upgrades including an expanded Gym and amenities, new 50m outdoor pool and 900 seat grandstand, and a new Youth Centre
Providing for active and healthy lifestyles for current and future generations through the construction of the Lane Cove Sport & Recreation Precinct due for completion by the end of 2025
Converting the open air car park in Little Street into a much-needed community hub and underground parking, including the Pottery Lane Performance Space and other state-of-the-art community facilities to support diverse services for our ageing population as well as performance and cultural programs
Expanding Gallery Lane Cove to include Creative Studios space to support visual arts as well as growing the public art presence in Lane Cove by more than 250%
Delivering Waterview Drive, our first new road in Lane Cove in more than 30 years, which provided the opportunity to connect new developments in the Burns Bay Precinct, as well as being home to the new Waterview Drive Community Centre, new Early Childhood Centre and popular Hughes Park.
Improving DA assessment services resulting in NSW's fastest development assessment processing times for the last two years
Securing 15 affordable housing units in Lane Cove under the control of Council, with another 54 in the pipeline and providing three Council-owned homes for families escaping domestic violence
Ensuring Lane Cove is an inclusive community leading the development and implementation of Council’s first Reconciliation Action Plan; new Climate Resilience Plan; Age-Friendly Strategy, and Disability Discrimination Action Plan

Craig’s significant contribution to the local government sector extended beyond Lane Cove Council, through his role as Chair of the General Manager’s Advisory Committee for the Northern Sydney Region of Councils for 5 years, Deputy Chair of CivicRisk Mutual (Insurance), Chair of the Northern Suburbs Waste Alliance, and Board Member of State Cover Mutual Insurance, local government’s specialist workers compensation insurer, further cementing his reputation as an exceptional corporate leader.