The Warburton Place Plan was adopted at Tuesday night’s Council Meeting, after final changes were made to the draft plan following an eight-week community consultation period.
The plan sets out clear actions to address the community’s aspirations and vision for the township, while guiding the decision making by Council for future infrastructure, programs and services for the area.
Yarra Ranges Mayor and O’Shannassy Ward Councillor, Jim Child, said now the adopted plan would bring greater strategic direction for Warburton and its surrounding townships moving forward.
“Through this entire process, the constant themes we kept hearing from the community were that natural environment, community connection and a strong local economy were of the utmost importance,” Cr Child said.
“We also saw themes of a desire for increased knowledge and celebration of people, culture and place within the area, including deeper engagement with our local indigenous communities.”
Initial community engagement for the Warburton Place Plan began in December 2018 and May 2019, with the local community sharing their future aspirations for the township with Council, which led to the development of the Draft Warburton Place Plan.
The draft plan was then put out for community feedback for eight weeks over July-August earlier this year.
Approximately 1,500 residents took part in the consultation process and more than 100 responses were received, helping update the plan into its final, now adopted state.
“The pandemic has been a huge disruption to the development of this plan so to be at the final stage of adoption now is a huge milestone for the people of Warburton and surrounds,” Cr Child said.
“I can’t thank the community enough for their ongoing support and input into this plan and I’m looking forward to seeing the future outcomes for the area that.”
The Warburton Place Plan, and related Consultation and Engagement Report, can be viewed at https://shaping.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/warburton-place-plan.
