Feedback sought on draft documents

COUNCIL voted on their intention to adopt the drafts of the Community Vision and Council Plan at their ordinary meeting last Wednesday, with both documents now available for public submissions until Monday, 19 July.

Drafted from community consultation as part of the Ballarat: Our Future community engagement process earlier this year, the Vision sets out residents’ aspirations for the city for the next 10 years.

It features the overarching vision statement, “Ballarat, Victoria’s heritage city; leading the way as a sustainable, innovative and inclusive community”, with defined principles and themes for action to guide council’s decision making.

Having received nearly 2000 responses in the first stage of the consultation process, mayor Cr Daniel Moloney said he was confident the draft document achieved its purpose.

“In the context of probably the greatest period of change experienced by this city since the gold rush it’s never been more important to accurately capture the aspirations of our community so that Ballarat continues to thrive and remain a vibrant place to live, work, invest and a visitor destination of choice,” he said.

The Draft Council Plan 2021-2025 sets out council’s priorities over the period, with six goals around environmental sustainability, community, growth and the economy.

Council’s work to achieve these goals will be broken down into 12-month initiatives.

Cr Moloney said this addition to the Draft Council Plan will “allow our community to track our progress more easily on our Council Plan commitments.”

Submissions to either document must be received before 9am on Monday, 19 July.

For more information visit mysay.ballarat.vic.gov.au/ballarat-our-future1.