City to River submissions closing soon

Published on 22 August 2019

Susan Surridge and Mark Radford at Horsham Plaza.png

Wimmera people have until Friday 30 August to provide feedback on the City to River Draft Masterplan.

Horsham Rural City Council (HRCC) has received more than 400 submissions since the engagement period commenced in early July.

Chief Executive Officer Sunil Bhalla said HRCC appreciated the efforts of everyone who had contributed to the discussion so far.

“The response from the community has been terrific,” Mr Bhalla said.

“We have received detailed and thoughtful feedback that shows how much people care about our city and the idea of making better use of the Wimmera River and better connections to the central activity district.

“Opinions have been sought from all sections of the community including school students, senior citizens, key user groups and the broader Wimmera community. 

“We realise that there are differences in views about what people like and don’t like about the Draft Masterplan.

“We will need to work together to resolve these differences. Compromises will need to be made and Councillors will ultimately make those decisions,” he said.

Mr Bhalla said every single written submission would be reviewed and taken to Council for consideration.

“It’s important to note that this is not simply a vote count. After August 30 a detailed report, analysing key themes in relation to the project’s objectives will be presented to Councillors,” he said.

Mr Bhalla said a common question received from residents was about how the concepts in the Draft Masterplan would be funded.

“Funding would be drawn from four different areas. We would need lots of generous support from the State and Federal Governments. There would need to be a Council contribution and money from the private sector would also be required,” Mr Bhalla said.

“If we received funding from higher levels of government for the City to River project, it would not mean that other important areas such as roads, health and education would receive less funding.

“Having a holistic long-term vision will put our city in a better position to access funding opportunities in the areas of sport, recreation and tourism for example,” he said.

Residents and other stakeholders can have their say on the draft by lodging submissions online and in writing. 

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