Integrated Planning and Reporting Manual - Division of Local ...

2. THE COMMUNITY STRATEGIC PLAN
Places for People – which considered issues relating to the built environment and urban
design
A Prospering City – focusing on the city’s local and regional economic context and economic
development issues
Moving Around – which looked at transport issues and the social, land use, economic and
sustainability issues that arise from how people move around
Looking after our Environment – which gave an overview of the city’s local and regional
natural environment and recreational context.
This was one way of providing a sound basis for community discussion on key issues. Some
councils use a ‘State of the Shire’ report to highlight key local issues. Some smaller councils have
used innovative approaches to start discussion on long-term planning, such as collecting photos of
what people like and don’t like about their community.
Drawing all this information together and presenting it in a user-friendly format is a considerable task
and councils will need to approach the exercise according to their own particular circumstances. For
example, a small rural council may only need one general discussion paper, or presentation to
support its discussions. A large metropolitan council would need to take a more comprehensive
approach. The important thing to remember is that this is an integrated planning framework – so
relevant information will come from a variety of sources and the planning process will involve a
variety of different people. Council should aim to gather the best available information.
Although many councils currently have a strategic planning team, the pre-plan work shouldn’t be
restricted to this team alone. The Community Strategic Plan will ultimately affect everyone who
works at the council, as well as the community, so it is best to get a variety of people involved in the
process.
Part of the process will be to think about some of the possible impacts and implications of the issues
that are identified. In this respect, it would be very valuable to have a range of people working on
the project. For example, if you are considering waste management issues, engineering staff might
highlight different implications to, say, community services practitioners, or financial managers, or
members of a local environment group.
Where will the team start in gathering information
There are usually a couple of issues that are at the forefront of public debate. These generally relate
to external pressures or changes that the community may be experiencing – for example in
metropolitan communities the concern may be about managing growth and development in the
area. For rural communities, it might be about ensuring the long-term survival of towns and
industries. Both communities might be concerned about the impacts of climate change, but for
varying reasons.
Communities are also concerned with quality of life issues – such as personal safety, open space
and places for recreation, general amenity and aesthetics of the area, protection of the environment,
employment and educational opportunities.
The challenge is to drill down into these general issues and identify some specifically local
concerns: What is the current state of play What are the likely impacts and implications
It is also important to identify and understand the drivers of change. What are the pressures or
influences that will affect the community and bring about the expected changes Can we do
anything about them Are there any opportunities that could be explored
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