Barnawartha & Surrounds Community Resilience Plan

Engagement for the community resilience planning project for Barnawartha and Surrounds has now closed. The draft plan will be available to review on the website during the month of August 2024 for final contributions.

Thank you to everyone who has been involved so far - your thoughts and ideas were crucial in shaping this important process.

We had a high level of engagement from the communities, with people contributing online here, attending the Resilience Conversation sessions with Paul Ryan from the Australian Resilience Centre(External link) in October 2023, coming along to the pop-up sessions, and an amazing turnout at the Stanley Community Celebration on Sunday 14 April. 61 people cast their votes on the draft actions at the celebration which told us where the strongest levels of community support are. The action plan is organised into the three strategic themes as identified by the community:

1. SAFE, CONNECTED, AND EMPOWERED COMMUNITIES

• The community want their spaces to feel safe, modern, clean, and inviting and to reflect the love and pride they feel for their home.
• Residents want to have more knowledge and capacity to increase their own resilience to manage emergencies, including communication and energy resilience.
• Community events and opportunities to connect are strongly valued.

2. INVESTMENT IN RECREATION AND DESTINATION

• The community strongly support using what they already have, particularly the railway precinct to revitalise the town.
• Invest in new destination spaces and events for community and tourism.
• Recreation opportunities for biking, fishing, skating and connection to the waterways are valued, especially for young people.

3. SUSTAINABLE PLANNING FOR COMMUNITY AND INDUSTRY

• Residents want to preserve the rural lifestyle of Barnawartha and plan for a sustainable economy.
• Indigo Valley residents want intergenerational living where they can age in place and where the future generations can secure housing in the Valley.
• Planning for improved pedestrian and cycle paths is a high priority.

The actions aim to proactively address current and future challenges in Barnawartha and Surrounds. Many of these actions can be initiated immediately at the community level, while others will require collaborations between Council, community and relevant services, agencies, and businesses. Many projects will require additional funding streams to be sourced.

You can read the full and summary draft plans, along with the draft actions, here.

You can read the Community Resilience Discussions Report - December 2023 here.

Background

At Council’s April 2023 meeting, a proposal was supported to undertake small township community planning in Barnawartha and Stanley.

This work is funded through Emergency Recovery Victoria with a focus on emergency preparedness and community resilience in these locations.

The purpose of this Community Plan is to provide a framework for achievable and place-based action that will enable Barnawartha and Surrounds to meet the needs of the existing and future communities.

It provides a roadmap for what needs to be preserved, protected, and improved to retain the unique rural, historic, agricultural, and natural environments that defines Barnawartha and surrounds. This plan has been developed entirely through consultation with those who live and work in Barnawartha and surrounding communities and it builds on previous community and Council planning processes.

This Community Plan provides a well-coordinated approach to make the rural locality even better and address the changes driven by and for the community. This plan tackles the core challenges that residents may face in the future by being proactive and suggesting ways to leverage the town's unique strengths.

Project Promotion

The following methods were used to communicate to residents about the development of the plan, the process, and ways to get involved:

• Engaged Indigo website
• The Your Indigo Newsletter
• The Chiltern Grapevine
• Good Neighbours - Barnawartha Facebook Page
• Council Facebook Page
• Posters on notice boards, local businesses, schools, and Post Office
• Letterbox Drop

Project Stages

• August 2023 - Internal and External Stakeholder review - meeting with clubs, individuals and relevant Council officers for direct input
• September 2023 - Engaged Indigo site launched for online feedback
• October 2023 - Resilience Conversations sessions with Paul Ryan
• December 2023 - Report from the Resilience Conversations is published on the website
• February 2024 - Pop-up sessions
• April 2024 - Barny Festival
• May 2024 - Draft report is submitted to Council for review
• August 2024 - Draft plan is put on public exhibition for a final round of feedback
• September 2024 - Final plan is presented to Council for adoption

What's Next?

The plan belongs to the community. They have identified actions which will preserve what they love about Barnawartha and Surrounds and in what ways they want to see growth and change. Some of these are easily achieved at a community or individual level, without the need for Council involvement or additional funding. Others are more complex and will require collaboration between community and Council, and sometimes businesses or other key stakeholders. Many actions will require external funding sources to make them a reality.

The Community Plan will be embedded into the Council Plan with reportable actions. Progress towards the achievement of the Community Plan priorities will be tracked, monitored, and evaluated for success measures.

It's important to remember that while the plan will be ready in 2024, many of the actions may be subject to grant or other funding conditions. There may also be significant disruptors that we can't yet foresee that could change the plan.