Central Goldfields - Your Community 2030
Central Goldfields – Your Community 2030
Funded by the Australian Government’s Building Better Regions Fund, we worked with residents to develop 10 year community plans that reflect the uniqueness and priorities of the eight communities and districts of Maryborough, Bealiba, Carisbrook, Dunolly, Talbot, Majorca, Bet Bet and Timor.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the development of our 10 year Community Plan Project. In total, 1,035 community voices contributed to the project via listening posts, a survey, drop-in sessions, roving interviews, focus groups, children's drawing activities and community workshops.
Our eight Community Plans are now ready for the community to view:
See below for a detailed overview of Central Goldfields – Your Community 2030.
A review of community planning in Central Goldfields
A review of community planning in Central Goldfields is now complete.
It has been four years since the completion of eight community plans for Bealiba, Bet Bet, Carisbrook, Dunolly, Majorca, Maryborough, Talbot and Timor and so the review was an ideal time for us to learn about and reflect on the achievements, challenges and needs of each township and how community planning might better support the aspirations of each town.
The review involved:
- Talking with key community leaders, groups and partners who have been involved in implementing community plan activities to better understand progress, achievements, challenges and ideas for improvements
- The Let's Get Better at Community Planning Workshop on Wednesday 31 May which was an opportunity for us to hear about what is already happening in our local towns and districts and what community members are interested in pursuing next.
- Learning from other successful community plan projects
Review outcomes
At the June, 2023 Council Meeting a report on the key recommendations and findings on the Community Planning Review Project were delivered.
The Review identified that Council’s next steps fall into three key areas:
- small triumphs
- building a partnership model
- funding a Community Development Officer role to support community planning.
The review identified that whilst Council endeavours to facilitate a range of small successes for the community identified in the review, within the existing budget, it's clear that sustainable traction and change depend on the appointment of a Community Development Officer.
There is a strong desire for setting priorities and identifying community projects, the Community Development Officer will enable us to better support our community by connecting townships, leading improvements and developing a range of resources and tools we can use for community planning and ongoing funding.
Council will recruit for the Community Development Officer in September.
To find out more about the recommendations identified as part of the review, you can read the Phase 1 - Summary Report here(PDF, 345KB).
What is a community plan?
A community plan is a document that sets out the community’s vision for the future and sets priorities for progress. Community plans are developed and owned by community and capture the community’s voice for what is most important for them.
Who was involved?
In 2019, 1035 residents across eight districts - Bealiba, Bet Bet, Carisbrook, Dunolly, Majorca, Maryborough, Talbot and Timor - came together to outline a ten-year plan for each of their communities.
Completed in 2020, the plans identified what residents love about their community, the challenges they face and priority areas for change and improvement.
Since completion, many of the identified infrastructure improvements have been implemented by Council (with Federal government funding) and community groups have also been busy delivering an exciting range of community festivals and other critical projects.
Who is responsible for the implementation of a community plan?
The delivery of key actions within each community plan is the shared responsibility of community members, Council, other government agencies, businesses and key stakeholder groups and organisations.