Last week we welcomed news the NSW Government will not proceed with regional mergers, including the proposal to merge Newcastle City Council with Port Stephens.

As one of Australia's oldest cities and the regional centre of the Hunter, it's so important that we have a local council focused on both our burgeoning economy while still celebrating our history.

We and our neighbouring councils are unique, we face different issues and have different priorities for our communities.

With the assurance of the standalone announcement, we can now get on delivering our community's Newcastle 2030 vision of a becoming a smart, liveable and sustainable city.

Our city is experiencing unprecedented growth and investment.

We have attracted funding for the Hunter Innovation project, a new cruise terminal and of course the Revitalising Newcastle project which includes the light rail.

We are seeing cranes in the sky with whole city blocks being transformed.

Not limited to the city centre, the boom continues in our suburbs.

The value of approved development soared 70 per cent in Newcastle last year to take the total green lighted to more than $3 billion over the past five years.