Community Strategic Plan Review 2021

Council hosted a virtual Whole-of-Community forum on 24 February 2022 to review the key outcomes from community engagement and to consider proposed changes to the Community Strategic Plan. Attendees included representatives from local organisations, government agencies, non-government organisations and residents of all ages and backgrounds.

Feedback received at the forum is now under consideration, and the draft Community Strategic Plan: Sustainable Blue Mountains 2035 is being finalised to present to the Council at its April meeting. The draft Plan will then be placed on public exhibition in late April, and community and stakeholders invited to make submissions.

You can access the summary report here: Whole of Community Forum Report - Community Strategic Plan Engagement Phase 4

The Blue Mountains State of the City Report 2021 identifies current and emerging issues for our City, in the context of our community endorsed Vision for becoming a more sustainable, healthy and successful Blue Mountains. It is a companion document to the End of Term Report 2016-2021, which reports our progress over the past 5 years in achieving our shared vision for the Blue Mountains.

Together, these two reports set the context for our City, monitor the extent to which progress has been made, and discuss what is needed to create a more successful and sustainable future for the Blue Mountains. These reports have informed the update of the objectives in Community Strategic Plan, for achieving our vision for the Blue Mountains.

In late June, five planning area-based focus groups were held, providing participants with the opportunity to discuss their experiences of the services offered by council, and obtain their input on how to best achieve acceptable levels of service within the available resourcing.

The first three focus groups were held as a face-to-face engagement, however escalating COVID-19 case numbers meant the last 2 sessions moved to an online format. Both formats gave community members the opportunity to engage in meaningful discussion and consideration of key priorities for Council's service delivery.

You can access the summary report here: Levels of Service Focus Groups Report - Community Strategic Plan Engagement Stage 3

On 1 June 2021, more than 60 Blue Mountains City Council stakeholders and staff came together for a virtual workshop to discuss priorities for the future, and the ways in which we can work together more effectively to achieve the best possible outcomes for the Blue Mountains community, now and into the future.

This highly interactive workshop engaged stakeholders in a number of activities and provided the opportunity to share success stories, challenges and opportunities to make better use of the region's unique collective resources to respond to the complex challenges we face.

You can access the summary report here:Stakeholder Workshop Report - Community Strategic Plan Engagement Stage 2

During April-May 2021, we asked our community via an online survey to share with us:

• what they value most about living in the Blue Mountains
• what they see as the key challenges, strengths and opportunities are
• their vision and priorities for the future.

This information will be used to help inform the update of the Community Strategic Plan.

You can access the summary report here: Survey Report - Community Strategic Plan Engagement Stage 1