Our Valley 2030 Derwent Valley Community Strategic Plan Yevgen Bellich Yevgen RUSSELL FALLS Our future We would like to thank our community for being so generous and open in their discussions with us during the Your Valley Your Voice consultations. Without your input, this document would not be able to reflect the thoughts, feelings and wishes of our community. You told us about what is great about the community and the Valley in general, and also what can be done to work on a number of the challenges you identified. Comments about a very real sense of community, the Valley’s beauty and space featured highly on the list of things that are great. We have a lot to be proud of, and through some of the actions outlined at the end of this document, hope that by 2030 we will have much more to be proud of. We really do have something very special here. There were also a number of challenges identified, some smaller things that we as a Council can work on to quickly address; also a number of larger and long-term projects that we will need to partner with community members, other organisations and different levels of government to look at. This Plan, Our Valley 2030, is a plan for the entire community. In order to bring it to life, and to do justice to those people who shared their thoughts and visions with us, we will need to work together and with other organisations to implement the actions at the end of the document. When we do that, we will grow and learn as a community, building on all that is good about the Valley and preparing it for the future. It is with great pleasure, therefore, that we present Derwent Valley Community Strategic Plan, Our Valley 2030. This Plan documents what we want the Valley to look like in 2030, how we will achieve that vision and who needs to be involved (the full details are in the appendix). As part of the Council’s commitment to you, we will ensure that there are updates available you at least every 12 months and we will provide opportunities for you to become involved in the implementation of the plan. This is our commitment to our Valley’s long-term future. Finally, we strongly encourage you to get involved in understanding the plan and identifying where you can get involved. If we are to achieve our hopes and dreams, then we need to sincerely work together. Natural. Inviting. Local. Martyn Evans Ben Shaw James Graham Barry Lathey Frank Pearce Anne Salt Julie Triffett Mayor Deputy Mayor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Our Valley 2030 i Rob Burnett Tassie Bound Adventure Tours Bound Adventure Tassie DERWENT RIVER ii Derwent Valley Council Table of contents 1. Where Do We Want to Be? Our Vision and Values p.2 2. Where Are We Now? Our Valley p.4 The Need For Our Plan p.6 The Roles that Council Plays p.8 How the Plan Was Put Together p.9 3. What Did You Say? Economy p.12 Communities p.14 Environment p.16 Leadership and Partnerships p.16 Our Town Priorities p.17 4. Where Do We Want to Be? Our Future The Outcomes Sought p.18 Our Strategic Actions p.20 Our ‘Game Changers’ p.26 5. How Will We Measure Success? Measuring Success p.29 Evaluating Success p.29 Reporting Success p.29 Thank You p31 Appendix 1 p.33 Our Valley 2030 1 Where do we want to be: 1.Our Vision and Values Working together, the Derwent Valley will become known for the beauty of its preserved natural environment and the produce and lifestyle it provides for a prosperous and proud community. The Valley will be inviting for visitors, investors and families alike, while remaining very much local as growth is balanced against preserving what is special about what we have already. We celebrate our history and our successes as we unite to deliver a sustainable future for the next generation. Natural. Inviting. Local. Natural By 2030, we have retained our sense of space and the peace that comes with that. While close to Hobart, we will never cease to be amazed at how that sense of space makes us feel like we are “a world away”. Tourism Tasmania & Graham Freeman Tasmania Tourism The Valley will continue to be known for its stunning landscape. But, we won’t rest on that achievement; collaborations will have furthered real improvements in the ‘health’ of the environment. As leaders in environmental management, water quality of the Derwent will be good and weeds will be much less of a problem. Our community understands that our natural environment is an important part of our identity as is our link to our past. But it is also our future as we and others value our preserved natural history and beauty. STYX BIG TREE RESERVE 2 Derwent Valley Council Inviting We are seen as a very inviting place to work, live and visit due to our unique blend of friendliness, space, natural beauty and vibrancy. Tourism Tasmania & Rob Burnett Tasmania Tourism Farming, tourism and sustainable industry remain as large employers of local people. New businesses – and subsequently contributing residents — are being attracted particularly to New Norfolk, which will grow. Businesses will be attracted to the collective ‘sense of purpose’ that existing and diverse businesses have created, as they, too, have a real desire to contribute to the future of the community. This collective way of thinking and doing will lead to new ideas and create BUSH INN opportunities for the next generation. Local The people of the Valley value what we have here – the sense of community. With steady growth in New Norfolk and Agrarian Kitchen - Adam Gibson ongoing improvements to the look and feel of the central business district, the town is vibrant. This attracts locals and visitors alike. The smaller towns of Westerway, Glenora, Bushy Park, Molesworth, Lachlan and Maydena are lively centres contributing to the lifestyle and services in the valley. Our community spirit is still strong and our towns feel peaceful. In these communities, access to transport is easy, with good links to Hobart and beyond. Across the Valley educational facilities and after-hours medical services are readily available, as well as shops and entertainment. Improvements sought by the community are now visible and seen with much pleasure and pride. We understand that our history is something that we should own. We should be proud of AGRARIAN KITCHEN EATERY who we are – put simply, a community that cares. Our Valley 2030 3 Where are we now? 2.Our Valley WORLD HERITAGE + 4,103km2 NATIONAL PARK AREAS LAND AREA 67% IDENTIFY AS BORN 10,148 ABORIGINAL OVERSEAS 7% POPULATION1 & TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER SPEAK A LANGUAGE 43yrs OTHER THAN MEDIAN AGE 4.6% 1% ENGLISH HOUSEHOLDS WITHOUT 5,069 INTERNET CONNECTION 25.2% RATEABLE HOUSEHOLDS PROPERTIES 23% RENTING 4 Derwent Valley Council GROSS REGIONAL $15M PRODUCT2 $327M COUNCIL ANNUAL OPERATING MEDIAN WEEKLY BUDGET INCOME $998 HOUSEHOLD INCOME 3 STAFF IN COUNCIL 59.92FTE 2,716 JOBS IN MAIN NORSKE SKOG THE VALLEY2 EMPLOYERS IN CORUMBENE THE VALLEY HAVE A TRADE 1% QUALIFICATION HAVE OR ARE ATTENDING UNIVERSITY 24% NB: Gross Regional Product (as of 30th June, 2017). GRP is the amount of the nation’s wealth, which is generated by businesses, organisations and individuals working in the Derwent Valley. 1 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2017 2 https://economy.id.com.au/derwent-valley/population 3Derwent Valley Council Annual Plan 2018-19 Our Valley 2030 5 Nik The Need for Our Plan Put simply, the Plan is like our compass. Creating the Plan hasn’t been easy, It sets the direction that the community however. Some tough decisions had to and Council believe that we all must be made to make sure the Plan didn’t take. It creates expectations of the ‘who, just become a ‘wish list.’ If this were what, how and when.’ That is, who is to happen, the Council runs the risk of responsible for delivering numerous spreading its efforts too thinly as there different strategies and actions (the will never be enough time, money or ‘what’ and ‘how’) and the timing of the people to do everything. planned completion of the strategies. By having agreement on what we must work towards in the short, medium and long-term to achieve what the community and Council want for the Valley, we can continually improve our effectiveness and deliver services across the Valley in an efficient manner. 6 Derwent Valley Council How the Plan Will Be Merged Into Council’s Activities Council is also mindful that there’s no • Council’s Asset Management Plan, point developing a Plan — that has ensuring that the construction and required a lot of thought and community maintenance of assets that Council input — if it doesn’t get delivered. To will have responsibility for — to support do that, this long-term plan needs to the Plan’s delivery — are appropriately be included in a number of existing and planned for; and new plans to ensure that what people want for the Valley is adequately costed • A range of strategies and plans for and factored into Council’s schedule of specific programs and projects are works. These plans include: also anticipated to be developed. These will often be developed in • Council’s Annual Plan, ensuring that partnerships with government, those actions that are the responsibility business and/or the wider community. of Council will be included into our annual planning; • Council’s Long-Term Financial Plan, ensuring that the actions to be undertaken that Council has responsibility for will be appropriately costed and budgeted for; Our Valley 2030 7 Steve Lovegrove Steve The roles that Council plays In the community, the Council plays a number of roles.