THE birth of her third son since Grenfell’s The Next Crop forum may have slowed-down Emily Essex for a short time, but she is still working behind the scenes for economic improvement of her other passion, the Grenfell community.
With three other local business women, a new development group is forming, but they’re not rushing.
“We want to establish properly, so there are several things we need to do first,” Mrs Essex said. “It’s about networking, building community rather than whinging about things. We’re not rushing this as It has to be 100 per cent organised for launch night with everyone committed and happy to spend money on membership and can see the benefits.”
More out of NBN
Weddin Shire Council has been on the front foot applying for grant money from Growing Local Economies Fund to roll out a connectivity project within the shire to boost the ability of people in more remote areas to access NBN through tapping into the fibre optic cable and beam out via wireless.
Corporate services director, Lachlan Gibson, said some local black spots were being assessed by professionals to get advocacy for more funding to solve those issues.
Medical Centre
Through Building Better Regions funding, council is nearing completion of a new medical centre, which follows a long period without doctors in Grenfell.
“A conservative estimate found it was costing our economy $12 million a year as people sought medical services elsewhere and did their shopping while out of town,” Mr Gibson said.
The new building will accommodate two doctors and other services, including eHealth and video conferencing for specialists to utilise. “Connectivity and health are two important issues in attracting new residents and businesses,” he said.
The council is also drawing up a strategic plan calling it “Weddin Wellness Plan” as the medical centre is only one part of the health jigsaw.
“It will collate what services are in town and what are needed then have a more of a strategic look into the health space to get additional health bodies to town.”
Developing skills
Skills development is a feature within the shire’s economic strategic plan.
Mr Gibson said council’s focus was not just on infrastructure, but also developing skills. A recent workshop bent towards farming by a financial consultant, delved into reading financials and how banks work.
“We want to develop the skills of our people which will drive towards economic growth as well.”
