Boating at Audley in Royal National Park. Picture by Murray Trembath

Visitation to Royal National Park has dropped again.

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New figures reveal there were 4.9 million visits to the Royal in 2024-25, compared with more than six million a year between 2019 and 2023.

The surge in popularity at that time was put down to improved walking tracks and other infrastructure, the discovery by a new audience of the Coast Track, Wedding Cake Rock, Figure 8 Pools and Wattamolla.

Highest visitations in 2024-25:

• Blue Mountains National Park - 7.8 million visits
• Royal National Park - 4.9 million visits
• Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park - 4.3 million visits
• Lane Cove National Park - 2.4 million visits
• Kosciuszko National Park - 2.4 million visits

Lee Evans in the Heathcote station car park in 2021, announcing plans to add 210 parking spaces. Picture by Murray Trembath

MORE HEATHCOTE PARKING

About 30 more spaces will be added to the commuter car park on the eastern side of Heathcote train station.

Heathcote MP Maryanne Stuart said a concept design had been prepared.

It included an extended parking layout, upgraded lighting, CCTV and wayfinding signage.

Ms Stuart said work was expected to begin in 2027, with construction anticipated to take up to 12 months.

In 2021, the then Liberal government was forced to scrap plans to add 210 spaces to the car park after earlier abandoning plans for a multi-storey commuter car park at Engadine, due to community opposition.

Petra and Sophie in one of the podcast studios at the opening of Kirrawee Library+. Picture by Murray Trembath

COUNCIL EYES  AWARDS

Sutherland Shire Council has been shortlisted for 10 awards in a range of categories in the NSW Local Government Excellence Awards.

They include a new program which the council says has "dramatically improved customer response times, reduced overdue requests and reinforced a 'Customer at Heart' mindset across Council".

Other nominations that have been shortlisted include Kirrawee Library+, Jannali Moonrise Festival, the Spring Clean program in town centres and an education program on the new Aged Care Act.

Winners will be announced on June 4.