Providing opportunities, infrastructure, and services to support their community in the face of change was a considerable hurdle for Victoria’s Baw Baw Shire Council. Forty five percent of the Shire’s population live in townships of less than 500 people. This means that a blanket prescription would not necessarily provide for the unique needs of the small, scattered, communities.
Therefore the Shire aimed to devise a system of planning which would recognise the differing needs of ten separate towns through a process of community consultation. This process involved assisting the communities to develop their own ideas for their township’s future and designing a framework for its implementation.
While consultants developed the initial format for the process, the drawing up of a process manual and complementary training now allows Council staff to run the projects.
Each project commenced with a community consultation.
“These have been very well attended because we sent a notice to all ratepayers beforehand with a copy of the project brief,” said Corporate and Strategic Planning Officer Richard Perry.
“Communities themselves worked out what was needed to deal with the pressures on their locales.”
Once completed and adopted by Council, the Action Plans are entered in the Council Strategy Action Chart to determine priority, timing responsibility and funding. This process creates a strong connection between communities and Council’s budget setting process. Should the proposals be beyond Council’s resources, funding from other sources is sought.
Richard Perry said it has been a very successful way to address the diverse needs of a scattered community. Other Councils with similar characteristics are now using the same process.
For further information contact Richard Perry, telephone (03) 5624 2522.
