Roadmap sets council priorities

Population growth and the explosive rate of development are the biggest challenges facing Baw Baw Shire, according to mayor Michael Leaney.
In adopting the revised Council Plan, Cr Leaney said development was occuring at an unprecedented rate and council's response to those pressure needed to be guided by a four year roadmap reflecting council priorities and the community's vision.
The Council Plan was adopted after an annual review which forms part of council's budget process.
A key consideration in this year's review was incorporating the new community vision endorsed by council last year that aims to create sustainable, healthy and thriving communities.
Mayor Michael Leaney said if the past two-and-a-half years had revealed anything, it was "we must be prepared to adapt to rapid change."
"Facing our world's evolving challenges requires careful and flexible forward planning.
"Population growth and the explosive rate of development is one of the most complex challenges we face. The reality is that development is occurring at an unprecedented rate, hastened by the pandemic as more Victorians leave the city for the regions.
"That is putting more pressure than ever before on our strategic and statutory planning services, and raising the tensions between the region's traditionally rural, leafy character and the impacts of growth," he said.
Cr Leaney said the Council Plan was a four-year roadmap that would guide council's decisions about services, projects and investments.
He said when the 2021-25 plan was drafted, it was done with climate change, rapid population growth and the emerging realities of COVID firmly in mind.
"Since then, the pace of change seems only to have accelerated...council has faced these new and growing challenges head on and set a clear strategic direction for addressing them," he said.
Cr Leaney said a key council initiative to deal with the challenges was a a major investment in statutory planning and enforcement, waste management and major strategic planning works relating to vegetation protection.
He said council also would continue to advocate to all levels of government to ensure the shire received adequate support for community and social infrastructure, healthcare, and education.
"From desperately needed design planning to address the inadequacies of Warragul and Drouin's 100-year-old state-managed arterial road network, to funding for vital social infrastructure like the proposed Baw Baw Culture and Connection precinct which aims to provide a new library, art and culture spaces, community meeting rooms and more, we are pushing hard on behalf of our growing community to make sure Baw Baw is not overlooked," he said.
Addressing the key themes of the community's vision, Cr Leaney said in sustainability, council was investing in environmental protection services, domestic and commercial waste management, and emergency preparedness.
For health, he said council was supporting initiatives for young children, families, and younger members of the community.
Cr Leaney said council was in a position to "emerge confidently from the cocoon of the past several COVID hit years and step proudly forward into a future that is sustainable, healthy, and thriving."