Aplan to guide the long-term future of smaller communities within the Grant District Council has been approved and is ready for action.


The Inner Townships Master Plan essentially serves as the council’s ‘to do list’ over the next several years.


It has been developed over the past 12 months to help shape the ‘look and feel’ of townships within the council area to create spaces for all to enjoy.


Growth and Tourism manager Rebecca Perkin’s report on the plan was presented at council’s November monthly meeting.


Consultant teams from MasterPlan and Outerspace Landscape Architects were engaged by council to develop the plan.


Ms Perkin described the plan as a visionary document.


“It sets the framework for how the council may accommodate significant population growth in the district’s inner townships,” she said.


The community had been invited to contribute to the plan when council held a number of community information sessions and workshops.


“The contents and plans of the document were developed with considerable input from the community through a series of workshops held between December 2022 and May 2023,” Ms Perkin said.


Residents living and working within the inner townships were encouraged to participate in the community drop-in sessions and provide their comments and feedback.


The plan focussed on the townships of Allendale East, Caveton, Compton, Glenburnie, Kongorong, Mil Lel, Moorak, Mount Schank, OB Flat, Suttontown, Tarpeena, Worrolong, Wye and Yahl.


“Concept plans and character statements were adjusted in response to feedback received through the active community engagement processes,” Ms Perkin said.


The consultant team worked closely with council staff to collate the community’s feedback.


“The consultants have presented a Master Plan which balances the needs of a range of stakeholders, while being practical about council’s financial constraints,” Ms Perkin said.


“The plan reflects ideas and aspirations of many community members and stakeholders who provided input through the engagement process.


“It achieves the goal of identifying suitable areas within the inner townships area in which local population can be increased and housed without compromising existing character.


“By adopting the plan, council is better able to position advocacy and projects for grant funding or as part of the 2023-24 budget process.”


The Inner Township Master Plan reflects what is important to each community and will play an important role in guiding the future development of each township.


The plan states a core focus on upgrades including new landscaping, shared use paths, community spaces, signage and lighting.


The implementation of recommendations is expected to provide places and spaces that are accessible, connected, inviting and enjoyable by all.


According to MasterPlan without a high-level master plan, it is difficult to plan for and prioritise works.


“The opportunities presented in the Inner Township Master Plan seek to translate the community feedback into a tangible set of projects for each township,” a spokesperson said.


“This information will allow council to integrate the recommendations into their forward strategic planning and budgeting process.


“The Inner Townships Master Plan will play an important role to meet the needs of current and future residents.


“Our challenge has been to develop a master plan that enabled each of the townships in the study area to retain its own unique identify and sense of place, while allowing it to evolve and meet the needs of current and future residents.


“Some of these actions are clearly defined improvement projects that have a start and end point.


“Other actions will be ongoing or recurring initiatives that will bring more incremental improvements.


“Regardless, ongoing engagement and input from the community will be required to inform the sequencing and implementation of actions and identify if needs have changed.”


Meanwhile, council’s chief executive Darryl Whicker said he was pleased to present the document now that it has come to fruition.


“It’s been an ongoing project for a long time.


It has now come to fruition and we are pleased to present it,” he said.


“We believe it’s a resilient plan that we can put into our strategic framework.


“It’s functional to start to influence quotes for the 2023-24 budget.


“It gives us the ability to also apply for grants.


“We want to adopt it and to get moving on it.”


Developing an Inner Townships Master Plan listed among the visions and goals in council’s Strategic Management Plan 2020-30.


The Inner Townships Master Plan can be viewed at council’s office or online.