As we live in the shire of villages, it would seem appropriate to talk of the need for village plans. The recent article in the Goulburn Post of Friday, November 17 reporting on the Tarago Village plan reflects in microcosm the need for all small villages in mainly rural shires to have a plan that is both a mechanism to focus community aspirations as well as a tool to maximize the available resources to achieve those aspirations over time.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A cursory review of the Tarago plan has a certain familiarity about it. We all want to maintain a balance between the character that is so essential to keeping our identity and the need to attract and sustain a viable population and community. There is a need for a variety of projects that are either provided by council or supported by council whilst funded by others to create a 5 to 10 year view that is both visionary and practical.
Probably what differs from Tarago for Gunning and most of the villages down south of the main North-South Rail Line is that Veolia Environmental Services has both the capacity and desire to facilitate the creation of the village plan and its subsequent outcomes.
In the cases of Collector, Gunning, Dalton and to a lesser extent Breadalbane, we would like to the wind farm community grants plus additional state and other instruments to step into the fray, as it were, and drive achieving the vision.
What makes this such a timely discussion is that NSW government’s commitment to grow regional communities through a $1.3 million fund to be articulated with the assistance for councils to achieve this very outcome.
The moment you start talking plans, everyone groans and says "not another one" that will require a consultation and negotiation process that will take time and only delay any outcomes.
I guess my take on this is a follows. We should still pursue projects this year and those following till a first stage approved plan is in place - most of our villages have a backlog of small development projects that would make a difference even as we speak. It is very important that we as villages need to start to get a more co-ordinated approach to how would like our villages to change in the next five to 10 years projected to the NSW government so that existing funding options can be most efficiently combined state level opportunities and get the traction that is so richly deserved. We can really come to our council with a solid bargaining tool to direct there priorities in the coming years.
We may find, in some instances, there is such commonality that the plan can be rolled up into a regional plan that encompasses some capacity for village recognition but this will only be visible once the community aspirations are tallied.
What also is apparent is that a major element of the whole discussion lies in the DCP/LEP discussions that are falling due as we speak. For all the villages in question that seems an item best tackled directly with appropriate council planning representatives than regional council representatives.
The other thing that is heartening Tarago Village plan is the clear support and assurance provided by Goulburn Mulwaree Council general manager Warwick Bennet of the community ratification of the priority. Often there is feeling of our local communities having all the aspirations they want but council will make operation decisions as they see fit. The communities that make our villages, diverse and sometimes intractable as they may seem, deserve the right to shape their future.
We need to be having these discussions now and for all elements of the community to be in a place to make NSW state funding count. Success will only come from a balance and achievable vision taking into account the plans many aspects. Tarago's plan may have its detractors and 'bumps in the road' but it is better than an uncoordinated vacuum which may result otherwise.