Barwon Coast unveils engagement framework

BARWON Coast Committee of Management Inc (Barwon Coast) has released its final Community Engagement Framework.

Barwon Coast has been delegated to manage the coastal areas of Ocean Grove, Barwon Heads and Breamlea in partnership with the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners, guidance from government agencies, as well as input from community groups and individuals.

The Community Engagement Framework outlines five guiding principles for Barwon Coast: partnering with Traditional Owners, promoting respect and equity, setting clear engagement goals, ensuring easy access to engagement activities, and closing the loop by informing the community of final decisions and how their input was considered.

The Community Engagement Plan outlines that if a project has a high or medium impact on community members and the community has a medium to high level of interest, then engagement is likely to be valuable to the decision-making process. When a project has low community impact and low community interest, the plan notes engagement is less likely to add value and would not be required for that project.

The development of the Community Enagagement Plan was a requirement of the Barwon Coast Coastal and Marine Management Plan 2020-2025.

Acting chief executive officer of Barwon Coast Paul Gangell said Barwon Coast was pleased to share the final version of the framework thanked the community for their assistance in shaping their approach.

“This important strategic document expresses our genuine commitment to working with Traditional Owners, stakeholders and our local community to help care for this special stretch of coastline we are delegated to manage.”

“We believe that community input is vital to meeting the vision set out in our Coastal and Marine Management Plan 2020-2025 of “The natural environment of our coastline will flourish while meeting the needs of our engaged communities.

“The Barwon Coast Community Engagement Framework outlines our approach to community engagement, including when and how we will seek community input, and how we will ensure we close the loop about how feedback has helped inform our approach.”