Creating the Wagga Wagga of tomorrow

The vision for a Wagga Wagga of the future is taking shape. 

In May and June more than 2500 aspirations for the Wagga of tomorrow were captured from residents across the Wagga Wagga Local Government Area during the Wagga View – Our Future in Focus community consultation.

Since this time The City of Wagga Wagga has carefully themed each of the individual wishes, ideas and responses to create the foundations for the city's new Community Strategic Plan (CSP).

The CSP, previously known as Ruby & Oliver, is not a Council plan, it's a plan developed by the community for the community.

"We would like to thank the Wagga community for playing their part in the Wagga View consultation. We were blown away by the diverse mix of suggestions and wishes from the community," Corporate Strategy Coordinator Serena Wallace said.

"The themes from these community sessions cover everything from our community identity to the environment in which we live.

"We are now at the point of turning these community aspirations for the future into a reality."

For this to happen, The City of Wagga Wagga is holding two community stakeholder engagement sessions this week to help determine the strategies and actions for the new CSP.

The first stakeholder sessions was held on Wednesday 31 August and was well attended. Another session is being held tomorrow, Friday 2 September. The sessions have attracted interest from a range of businesses, organisations and community groups, including NSW Police, Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD), NSW Department of Family and Community Services and Wagga Women's Health Centre.

MLHD Health Promotion Coordinator Brendan Pearson said opportunities to engage with local partners were imperative.

"Health and wellbeing in our community is generated through the settings where we live our everyday lives such as our streets, neighbourhoods, parks, town centres and workplaces. The City of Wagga Wagga is responsible for planning and delivering these settings so it makes really good sense to partner in this CSP project," Mr Pearson said.

All information gathered from the engagement sessions will help formulate the draft CSP. This will then be placed on public exhibition for one last round of community consultation to make sure the vision is accurate, before going to Council for adoption.

The CSP also helps inform all of Council's documents and strategies, such as the Local Environment Plan, Development Control Plan and the Wagga Wagga Integrated Transport Strategy.

To find out more about Wagga View visit www.wagga.nsw.gov.au/waggaview

Media Opportunity

What: Wagga View – Our Future in Focus community stakeholder engagement sessions and CSP update

Who: Corporate Strategy Coordinator Serena Wallace and local stakeholder representatives

When: Friday 2 September at 11am

Where: Council Meeting Room, Civic Centre