I have a question about the Council Plan.

• What is a Council Plan?

• The Council Plan outlines Yarra’s strategic direction over the next four years. All councils must produce a Council Plan every four years under the Local Government Act 2020. The Council Plan:

  • informs all our work, decision making and strategic direction
  • outlines the priority areas that Council will focus on over the next four years to help achieve our Community Vision
  • lists the indicators and projects which we will report against to show our progression in each of the priority areas.
• What did Council achieve with the last Council Plan?

• Over the last four years, Council have been able to deliver on key promises to our community and progress these strategic objectives. Examples of the work include:

  Under the climate and environment objective we have:

  • Transitioned 28 Council buildings from gas to all-electric, powered by renewables.
  • Continued to find new and innovative ways to reduce our carbon emissions.
  • Launched Australia’s first-ever inner-urban community battery in Fitzroy North.

  Under the social equity and health objective we have:

  • Supported the construction of hundreds of social and affordable dwellings in new and significant developments.
  • Revitalised and upgraded The Djerring Centre (previously known as the Collingwood Seniors Centre) in Abbotsford.
  • Hosted Victoria Pride on Gertrude and Smith Streets in Fitzroy that attracted more than 30,000 people in its first year.

  Under the local economy objective we have:

  • Introduced a permanent parklet program to help support traders enabling hundreds of local businesses to use on-street car parks to extend their outdoor dining areas and comply with COVID-19 restrictions.
  • Engaging with over 2,600 Yarra traders through our extensive business support programs.

  Under the place and nature objective we have:

  • Developed new open space areas across the municipality including pocket parks in Cremorne, Peel Street Park, Otter Street Park and Cambridge Street Reserve.
  • Planted over 2,700 street trees to increase the tree canopy cover, improve liveability and overall biodiversity values within Yarra.

  Under the transport and movement objective we have:

  • Developed our first ever Transport Strategy that has guided the construction of over 40 sustainable transport projects.
  • Expanded our 30km trial area to all of Collingwood and Fitzroy.

  Under the democracy and governance objective we have:

  • Created our first Financial Sustainability Strategy to guide Council on how to best manage our financial resources for the long-term in the best interests of our community.
  • Developed 16 community led principles through a comprehensive deliberative engagement that will inform future service planning and review.
• Why do we do a Council Plan?

• The Council Plan and how it is created is legislatively mandated. All councils must produce a Council Plan every four years under the Local Government Act 2020.

  These Plans informs all Council’s work, decision making and strategic direction over a four-year term.

• How does the Council Plan connect with other Council documents including Community Vision, Annual Plan and Annual Budget?

• In 2021 our community created a 2036 Community Vision that outlined their hopes, aspirations and priorities over 15 years. Each of these documents work up to achieving the Community Vision:

  • The Council Plan is Council’s key guiding document and outlines the priority areas that Council will focus on over the next four years to help achieve our Community Vision.
  • The priority areas for this Plan are reflected in our Annual Plan and Annual Budget to ensure we are taking steps every year to achieve the Community Vision.
  • The 10-Year Long-Term Financial Plan is a financial projection that connects how the actions of a Council Plan may be funded to achieve the aspirations in Community Vision.
  • The Community Infrastructure Plan is a guide that informs Council’s existing and planned infrastructure planning to ensure they meet community needs outlined in the Community Vision.
  • The 10-Year Asset Plan is a roadmap to ensure we can effectively use our assets including Council buildings, transport assets, stormwater assets and open space to meet the Community Vision.
  • The Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan addresses the priorities for the City of Yarra to promote broad community wellbeing.
• What community consultation has Council undertaken to develop the Council Plan

• The draft Council Plan 2025-29 was informed by extensive community engagement over two stages including a deliberative engagement process.

  Stage 1 broad community engagement started 28 October 2024 and ended 16 December 2024, and included engagement through Your Say Yarra, our online consultation platform, and a social research project. Stage 1 also included significant community stakeholder engagement with 36 community-based groups as well as hearing from our Advisory Committees. Further, we heard from 142 children and young people through a variety of engagement methods.

  The Stage 2 deliberative engagement process was undertaken between 28 January to 8 February 2025 over 4 sessions and included the recruitment of a Community Working Group through an expression of interest process which was conducted by an independent consultant.

  The Community Working Group consisted of 45 community members all of whom attended a minimum of three sessions, with two participants attending two sessions.

  The Community Working Group recommended some updates for the Yarra 2036 Community Vision to refine the existing themes and identified new themes to help the Vision be more forward looking and relevant to current priorities. The Community Working Group also identified and recommended some key strategic priorities and provided some key takeaways for consideration by Council to inform the new Council Plan, Asset Plan, Community Infrastructure Plan and Financial Plan.

  The Asset Plan and Community Infrastructure Plans are currently being developed and will be available for feedback later in the year.

• What are the next steps after the public exhibition period?

• Community members can register to speak to their feedback through the Your Say Yarra website at the Special Council Meeting on 3 June 2025, where Council will consider their feedback. This is the only opportunity for the community to speak to their feedback.

  The proposed Council Plan 2025-29 and 2025 Community Vision Reflection and Update Addendum will be presented at the 17 June 2025 Council Meeting for endorsement.

I have a question about the other documents.

• What other documents are you looking at during this engagement process?

• While we built our new Council Plan, we also took this opportunity to review and update several key Council documents to ensure that Yarra continues to thrive over the next decade and beyond. These include:

  • Yarra 2036 Community Vision – A community led vision for Yarra that outlines your hopes, aspirations and priorities for the next 12 years.
  • 10-Year Asset Plan – A roadmap to ensure Council can effectively use our assets including Council buildings, transport assets, stormwater assets and open space.
  • 10-Year Long-Term Financial Plan – A financially sustainable projection that connects how the actions of a Council Plan may be funded to achieve the aspirations in the Community Vision.
  • Community Infrastructure Plan – A guide that informs Council’s existing and planned infrastructure planning to ensure they meet community needs now and into the future.
  • Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan – A strategic plan that identifies aims for Council in protecting, improving and promoting the public health and wellbeing.
  We also used the priorities and needs that our community raises during the broad community consultation to help inform our planning for the 2025/26 financial year. These helped us create our 25/26 draft Budget that

  is available for feedback until 5pm on Friday 24 May.

• How does the Budget connect to this engagement process?

• We will use the priorities and needs that our community raises during the broad community consultation to help inform our planning for the 2025/26 financial year. These will help us create our 25/26 draft Budget that will be available for comment alongside the other strategic documents in April and May 2025.