Community priorities translating into results one year into Council Plan

The Rural City of Wangaratta said it has delivered on all first-year commitments under its Council Plan 2025-2029, but local business and tourism representatives say there is still room to improve economic growth, visitor services and community outcomes. Mayor Irene Grant said the first year of the plan has delivered positive outcomes across a range of areas. "The council plan reflects what our community told us is important,” she said. “Over the past year we've been delivering those priorities, from supporting local businesses and community programs to improving sustainability initiatives and advocating for better infrastructure. "It's encouraging to see all actions for the first year on track, but more importantly, we're seeing real outcomes for our community." Developed with community input, the council plan provides the municipality's direction over four years and focuses on four strategic themes including community wellbeing, natural environment, economy and tourism, and infrastructure and place. Council adopted the co-designed Level Up Youth Strategy and continued delivering community, arts, culture, library, and recreation programs. Community satisfaction increased to 73 per cent for recreational facilities and 77 per cent for arts centres and libraries, with more than one in four residents registered as library members. More than 109,000 people attended events and performances at WPACC, while the Wangaratta Sports and Aquatic Centre (WSAC) recorded more than 453,000 visits, up 6.6 per cent from the previous year. WPACC and WSAC profit and loss figures will be tabled at the next council meeting on 27 October at Edi Upper Hall and Recreation Reserve. Council said community satisfaction with environmental sustainability and the appearance of public areas had improved. It cited the introduction of the new state government mandated purple-lid glass recycling service and a joint effort to plant more than 7200 native trees, shrubs, and grasses across the municipality. Council said it has continued promoting Wangaratta as a place to live, work, invest and do business through investment attraction, tourism, events, and marketing, measuring results from through business enquiries, campaign reach, and feedback from participating businesses. Wangaratta’s Gross Regional Product increased by two per cent to $2.391 billion. Grow Wangaratta secretary and Wangaratta Turf Club CEO Emma Merlo said over the past 12 months there has been a noticeable improvement in the willingness to engage with the business community. "From the turf club’s perspective, our relationship with council has become increasingly collaborative," she said. "There seems to be a greater understanding that organisations like ours don’t operate in isolation – we employ local people, engage local suppliers, attract visitors to the region and contribute to the broader economy. "More broadly, through Grow Wangaratta, I think we’re starting to see some really positive conversations about bringing key organisations and businesses together and looking at economic development as a shared responsibility. "There is always more work to do, but the willingness to have those conversations, listen to what businesses are experiencing and work together feels stronger than it has previously." Ms Merlo said Wangaratta has a huge amount going for it, but economic development can’t just sit with council, one organisation or the business community alone. "What I’ve found encouraging recently is the greater willingness for people to get around the same table and talk about where Wangaratta is heading and what we need to do collectively to get there," she said. "The challenge now is maintaining that momentum and making sure those conversations lead to tangible outcomes. "If we can continue building those relationships and working across industries, I think there is a real opportunity to strengthen Wangaratta as a place to live, work, visit and invest." Ms Merlo said there is an opportunity to continue turning engagement into action. "Council has started some really positive conversations with different parts of the business community, and I think it’s important that those conversations continue across all industries," she said. "Continuing that engagement and bringing those different voices together will help build a stronger understanding of what our region needs and where we can work collectively to support growth, investment and employment." Painter’s Island Holiday Park manager Kirk Edgar said he would like to see a breakdown of where the investment into tourism was made, as they have seen no substantial increase. “We are down compared to last financial year due to flooding in July and August, but October to May is filling up, especially the jazz weekend and Christmas,” he said. “We constantly receive feedback from our guests who can't understand why Wangaratta lacks a Visitor Information Centre and why the offering at the art centre is very poor or unmanned. “And the older generation want paper information not QR codes, which seems to be the direction we are headed.” When it comes to roads, council said they continued to advocate for improvements to Department of Transport and Planning managed roads such as the widening of Wangaratta-Whitfield Road, and repairs to Greta Road and Murdoch Road. Council secured funding for the missing shared path connection between the railway station and the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail. During the year, 92 per cent of sealed roads remained below intervention level, similar to the previous year. Council rates sealed roads from one to five, with one being near-new and five being at the end of its useful life, council’s intervention level is three. Of planning applications, 75 per cent were determined within legislated timeframes and 161 new residential lots were released, exceeding the annual target. Council said the 75 per cent result is an improvement on the previous two financial years, when 68 per cent of applications were determined within the required timeframes.

Community priorities translating into results one year into Council Plan

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