ETHERIDGE Shire residents are being asked how they’d like the Gulf Savannah region to develop under a new urban masterplan project.
With concerns around the impacts of a potential population explosion associated with $4 billion worth of developments proposed for the shire, the council has engaged town planning consultants to prepare a masterplan.
The five-stage project will be managed by consultants RPS who will prepare a overarching masterplan along with specific plans for Georgetown, Forsayth, Mt Surprise and Einasleigh.
Community engagement started in earnest at the recent Etheridge Economic Development Forum in Georgetown, with meetings and public consultations sessions planned. Residents are being surveyed on development, quality of life, employment, accommodation needs and the types of facilities that are needed.
Project team leader Owen Dalton, a town planner with RPS, told the forum community engagement was critical to the project.
“One of the critical elements of a study of this type is community engagement, to actually seek feedback from the community and to identify what the issues and concerns there are,” Mr Dalton said.
“This is to ensure the final outcomes have a high degree of community acceptance and ownership. It’s pointless us going way in isolation and coming up with a plan and saying this is what you need if the community has had no input into it or ownership of it. It ends up being put on a shelf somewhere and ignored.
“I congratulate council in taking the initiative to get some planning in place ahead of the real impacts of the growth.
“The outcomes will provide council with the ability to be proactive in dealing with each of the projects, providing them with the tools to manage and mitigate the impacts of the potential development happening out here.”
Mr Dalton said the council would be able to “drive” the planning and development rather than being driven by the projects and investment. “The shire is the focus of a number of large scale agriculture and mining projects and the level of investment and population growth in the shire could have significant impacts on the community out here and the four townships,” Mr Dalton said. A draft plan is expected to be delivered in May.
