The Cities of Charles Sturt, Port Adelaide Enfield, Holdfast Bay and West Torrens have collaborated to develop a joint economic development strategy for the Western Adelaide region.
The strategy, Building Western Adelaide, identifies projects that are either planned or underway in the western suburbs, and which the councils can collaborate on to grow jobs and support local businesses.
It will also be used to advocate for State and Commonwealth funding and support for projects and to advocate for government policy reform.
The strategy was signed off on by all four Chief Executives in December and will be monitored by a working party including representatives from each Council.
City of Charles Sturt Mayor Angela Evans said the Australian Women’s Open Golf Championships was one of the projects identified in the strategy.
“We were thrilled by the State Government’s announcement in November that this event will be held at in Charles Sturt for the next two years, before moving to Kooyonga in 2018,” Mayor Evans said.
“These Championships are expected to inject around $3.7 million a year into the local economy, and will promote our City and its wonderful sporting facilities to a worldwide audience.”
Port Adelaide Enfield Mayor Gary Johanson said his Council supports economic collaboration with neighbouring Councils.
“Our Council already plays a key role in the Northern Economic Plan and has key relationships with Salisbury and Playford Councils.
“We have also identified complementary relationships and joint opportunities between local economies of the Western Region.
“The Western Region has many competitive advantages and this strategy will assist to capitalise on those opportunities and benefit all signatory Councils.”
Holdfast Bay Mayor Stephen Patterson said it made sense for neighbouring councils to collaborate on mutually beneficial projects.
“Tourism is a key economic driver for the City of Holdfast Bay and, importantly, the region,” Mayor Patterson said.
“The Western Alliance of councils will be collaborating to ensure that key tourism objectives are aligned regionally, state-wide and nationally to support a sustainable increase in visitation and to consistently provide high quality visitor experiences across bordering catchments.”
West Torrens Mayor John Trainer said while West Torrens was a mid-sized metropolitan council, it had a lot to offer in terms of economic development, notably via jobs provided by Adelaide Airport.
“The airport directly supports more than 6000 full time equivalent jobs on the site and another 2600 jobs off-site, a total of over 8600 jobs,” Mayor Trainer said.
“We’ve already seen this company inject a lot of money into not just our local economy, but more than $2 billion annually in to the State’s economy.
“The upgrade works that are currently occurring and planned for the future will create further part time and permanent job opportunities in the area and this can only spell good news for the Western Adelaide region.”
