INSIDE: COMMUNITY PROJECTS SHARE IN $208,000 BOOST FROM COUNCIL
Council News CITY OF WAGGA WAGGA
FIRST PRINTED SATURDAY 27 JULY 2019
Issue No: 255
Weekly information from us to you HEALTHY DISCUSSION FOR DRAFT PRECINCT MASTER PLAN
FUTURE PLANNING: Council’s Manager City Strategy Tristan Kell discusses the Health and Knowledge Precinct draft master plan with surgeon Dr David Littlejohn at the community drop-in session at Wagga Base Hospital on Wednesday.
A long-term vision to plan for future development in Wagga Wagga’s health precinct will be back on the table for community discussion and feedback in the city next week. The Health and Knowledge Precinct draft master plan was well received by more than 55 community members who attended an information drop-in session at Wagga Base Hospital on Wednesday. Health professionals, local residents, visitors to the city, students, youth and the general community were among attendees at the drop-in session to speak with Council’s planning team. Council’s Manager City Strategy Tristan Kell said the draft master plan presented well with various components of the vision being explained in greater detail relevant to specific areas. “A large proportion of visitors were complimentary of the vision, commended the long-term thinking and welcomed bringing together agencies, private sector and tertiary institutions through a steering committee,” Mr Kell said. It was the first of three community engagement sessions Council has organised to give people an opportunity to provide feedback. The next session will be at the Civic Centre on Wednesday 31 July 4pm8pm, with a third drop-in at Wagga’s Marketplace on Saturday 17 August 9am-5pm. The draft master plan is on public exhibition for 60 days until 9 September, with submissions closing on 16 September. The draft master plan and the opportunity to provide feedback can be found at: wagga.nsw.gov.au/healthprecinct
Innovative move to attract specialist staff Wagga Wagga City Council will soon have a presence in Sydney in a bid to attract specialist staff. Approval to establish an office in the city was endorsed at the 22 July Ordinary Council meeting.
A report to Council outlined the significant challenges faced in recruiting specialist staff, particularly in the infrastructure and project delivery areas. Council will now enter into a lease with Property NSW for office space at 1 Prince Albert Road, Sydney. The leased area will be shared with the NSW Government Special
Activation Precinct team, other local government authorities and regional councils. Council General Manager Peter Thompson said the move is aimed at overcoming the challenges of recruiting specialist staff such as engineers, project managers and construction supervisors - and ultimately get people to move to Wagga Wagga. “In August 2018, the State
Government identified Wagga Wagga as an area of significant growth that will swell to 100,000 residents under its 20-year plan for the region,” Mr Thompson said. “If Council is to work towards these ambitious targets, then it needs to have the skilled workforce in place to facilitate this growth.” Mr Thompson said the move in to Sydney is a positive step for Wagga
19 AC C E P T I N G A P P L I C AT I O N S N OW WAGGA.NSW.GOV.AU/FUSION
and is endorsed by local developers who are keen to see Council be more proactive in delivering future planning. “We’ve got projects that need to roll out in Wagga and the community expectation is that these projects are delivered quickly, on time and on budget. We raised this notion with the developer group we regularly meet and
they’ve indicated they see it as a positive step for Council to be far more proactive in terms of delivering future planning because they face the same issues as we do in getting the right staff.” Mr Thompson said Council has sought to fill numerous engineering, project management and various other specialist roles for the past 18 months. Continued on page 2