Bourke sets benchmark for strategic plan

Bourke Shire Council’s Manager of Planning & Environment Dwayne Willoughby and General Manager Ross Earl Photo TWH

Bourke Shire Council has set the benchmark for other far west councils, after it was chosen as the pilot council to prepare a draft Local Strategic Planning Statement, outlining the future of the town for the next two decades.

Council’s Manager of Planning & Environment Dwayne Willoughby and Planning Assessment Officer Caroline Crain have been working closely with the NSW Department of Planning to formulate the document.

Bourke Council was selected by the Western Region Department of Planning & Environment to draft the vision of the town’s future following new requirements set out by the state government last year.

Those requirements mean councils will have to account for how they spend funds, use land, maintain assets and contribute to economic growth and shared community values for the next 20 years.

The Bourke Local Strategic Planning Statement is now completed, and council is now calling for the public to respond and make submissions.

General Manager Ross Earl said he was proud Bourke had been chosen as a leader in the development of Strategic Planning Statement for local councils in this region.

“This Local Strategic Planning Statement sets the framework for the economic, social and environmental land use needs over the next 20 years,” Mr Earl said.

Read more in the printed edition of the Western Herald.