For the first time the Far West has a long-term strategy that guides the planning decisions of the region, the Far West Regional Plan 2036.
One of the priority actions of the plan is to undertake modelling with local communities to better understand the implications and factors contributing to population change.
The Building Future Communities project has been designed to tackle this growing challenge.
The project aims to build on current resources to create community action plans that identify opportunities and challenges communities are best placed to respond to.
The project is delivered through a series of workshops with local councils and the community.
The focus of the first workshop is to understand individual community profile and vision. The second workshop is focused on promoting community engagement and a collaborative approach to planning for the future.
Bourke Shire Council is leading delivery of the project across Far Western NSW.
The first round of workshops was held this month. The workshops in Bourke generated engaging conversations on the future of the community and the region.
The department is looking towards the second round of meetings in July, which will be used to develop a targeted plan to establish planning actions aligned with delivering the community vision.
The workshops generated engaging conversations
Our team will next visit Cobar, in line with the delivery of The Next Crop forum.
- DAMIEN PFEIFFER, DIRECTOR OF WESTERN REGION, DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT
