Council receives drought resilience funding

Published: 01 Feb 2024 8:34am

Wagga Wagga City Council has accepted funding for the development and implementation of a drought resilience plan.

At its Ordinary Meeting on Monday 29 January, Council resolved to accept a grant of $450,000 from the Regional Drought Resilience Planning program which is co-funded by the NSW Government and the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.

The fund supports identified regions in NSW to develop their own Regional Drought Resilience Plans that can be implemented by councils and their communities to manage future risks.

It aims to encourage regional communities to be better prepared for drought through planning ahead, with consideration for environmental and social needs.

The funding was made available in Round 2 of the program to selected eligible NSW councils.

Wagga Wagga City Council was required to submit an application as a consortium with Lockhart Shire Council.

Director Regional Activation John Sidgwick said the funds will be used to engage with consultants to prepare the plan.

“The funding is split into two categories: $200,000 will be used to engage a qualified consultant to assist with the development of a comprehensive Regional Drought Resilience Plan,” Mr Sidgwick said.

“The other $250,000 will be used to implement the plan; to undertake any necessary projects identified during its development.

“Wagga Wagga City Council will work in collaboration with Lockhart Shire Council to develop the plan. Both councils were nominated into consortia based on previously identified Functional Economic Region (FER) boundaries.”

Planning will start in the coming weeks with a Regional Drought Resilience Plan required to be delivered by October 2024.

The Regional Drought Resilience Planning program is administered by the Department of Regional NSW.