SOUTH Gippsland Shire Council’s ‘Shaping South Gippsland’ community engagement concluded last month with 688 people providing feedback.
The consultation provided an opportunity for the South Gippsland community to contribute suggestions on the development of a new 2025 - 2029 Council Plan and on the existing 2040 South Gippsland Community Vision.
From late January until the end of February, 22 engagement events were held including councillor ‘pop-ups’, community and stakeholder events, and a deliberative engagement.
Through this campaign 17 townships were visited and over 1100 suggestions for the Council Plan were provided.
The most strongly supported priority in the Community Vision was ‘A Healthy Connected and Engaged Community’ with 92 per cent of community members supporting healthy lifestyles opportunities.
Community feedback identified the lack of availability of a range of key health services as a concern.
Some of the key themes identified within the Council Plan were focused on, but not limited to:
• Roads, including road safety, quality and maintenance.
• Weeds, from increased weed control on Council roads, to additional education.
• Advocacy, seeking council’s public support on a wide range of requests including volunteer support, public transport and more reliable electricity.
Councillors will now consider the feedback as they work on creating the new Council Plan.
Once complete, the draft plan will be released for further community engagement.
Mayor John Schelling expressed his appreciation to all community members who contributed their ideas.
“Your input provides valuable insights that will guide our decision-making as we work to shape the future of South Gippsland,” he said.
