Economic Development and Tourism Strategy extended
Published on 16 August 2023
Campaspe Shire Council endorsed an extension to the development of its draft Economic Development and Tourism Strategy at its August meeting last night.
Mayor Rob Amos said that it was vitally important to ensure that there was ample opportunity for businesses, industry and the wider community from across the municipality to have their input into this strategy.
“We have been conducting various forms of engagement since June, including an online survey and local drop-in sessions for members of the public, one-on-one conversations with local industry and business people and a summit event which attracted over 150 attendees.
“We are about to conduct industry forums until the end of August across Campaspe which will gather further information. It will only be after all of these are completed that we will be able to collate all data into a strategy which is truly reflective of all feedback received.
“Council will continue to be briefed on the progress of the engagement and the development of the draft strategy ahead of its presentation to Council in draft form. Due to the large amount of data and increased level of engagement that has been undertaken, this will not be ready to present to Council for endorsement at the September 2023 meeting as we had previously hoped.
“We know this is an important piece of work which affects the entire municipality, and we have undertaken an increased amount of community engagement, so we want to ensure we have been thorough in the preparation of this strategy,” Cr Amos said.
Council committed to presenting the community with an options paper by the end of 2023, with the draft Economic Development and Tourism Strategy to be produced within the first quarter of 2024.
The mayor said there is still time to register for one of the upcoming industry forums to help shape a new five-year Economic Development and Tourism Strategy for the shire.
“We want to hear from industry groups, business owners, workers and other interested people in the community about the investment, advocacy and programs needed to strengthen our industry sectors and drive economic prosperity into the future.
“Industry sector forums are beginning this week with sessions taking place at various towns all over the shire, as well as online sessions to enable those who were unable to attend during the day to be able to have their say,” Cr Amos said.
“Once the draft Economic Development and Tourism Strategy has been approved by Council, it will also be released for public comment,’ Cr Amos added.
The industry forums details are:
|
Industry sector
|
Location
|
Date
|
Time
|
|
Tourism & Hospitality
|
Echuca
|
16 Aug
|
1.00pm-3.00pm
|
|
Rushworth
|
18 Aug
|
12.30pm-2.30pm
|
|
Online
|
23 Aug
|
5.00pm-6.00pm
|
|
Professional Services
|
Kyabram
|
17 Aug
|
1.00pm-3.00pm
|
|
Online
|
23 Aug
|
7.00pm-8.00pm
|
|
Industry & Manufacturing
|
Tongala
|
17 Aug
|
9.00am-11.00am
|
|
Online
|
23 Aug
|
10.00am-11.00am
|
|
Agriculture
|
Lockington
|
18 Aug
|
9.00am-11.00am
|
|
Rushworth
|
18 Aug
|
3.00pm-5.00pm
|
|
Retail
|
Echuca
|
16 Aug
|
4.00pm-6.00pm
|
|
Online
|
24 Aug
|
7.00pm-8.00pm
|
|
Health & Community Services
|
Kyabram
|
17 Aug
|
4.00pm-6.00pm
|
|
Online
|
24 Aug
|
5.00pm-6.00pm
|
|
General
|
Online
|
24 Aug
|
10.00am-11.00am
|
To register your attendance at an industry forum please visit www.campaspe.vic.gov.au/edts.