In her last official engagement, Shoalhaven Mayor Amanda Findley launched the Red Head Villages Community Plan for a Sustainable Future 2024-2030 on Saturday afternoon (7 September 2024) at Manyana’s Yulunga Hall.
The Community Plan project, which took three years to complete, was funded by Shoalhaven City Council and the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR) after the 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires. The project aimed to build cohesion and resilience across the five villages of Bendalong, North Bendalong, Cunjurong Point, Manyana and Berringer Lake as well as with residents along Bendalong Road.
The Red Head Villages Association engaged Locale Consultants to facilitate a community consultation process of workshops and a survey. The results of information gathered from 180 workshop participants and 406 survey respondents was used by a Resident’s Working Group to develop a Character Statement and an Action Plan.
At the launch event, Mayor Findley said, “The Plan that this community has developed is the very best I have ever seen in the Shoalhaven. It represents your community’s shared values. It is these values that make you strong and make you able to resist the outside forces that want to change our place, not necessarily for the better.”
Mayor Findley particularly noted the paragraph in the Plan’s Character Statement … “that we accept that our villages face limitations as a result of natural disasters and climate disruption. We also acknowledge the role human inadequacies can play in shaping our future and we work together towards mitigating impacts and greater community resilience”
Mayor Findley added, “It’s when we are together that we are strong and that we can push back just as you have time and time again to make sure that the community is always at the forefront.
“In this Plan, you’ve been able to recognise the challenges ahead. Collectively presenting these documents to the world today sends a very clear signal to anyone now that comes down the Bendalong Road that this community has strong values for a sustainable future”.
Approximately 70 residents celebrated the official launch of the Plan and a video promoting it.
Other special guests included Monique Carson (FRRR), the Hon. Fiona Phillips (Member for Gilmore), Gillian Boyd (current Ward 3 Councillor), Kaye Gartner (previous Ward 3 Councillor).
Red Head Villages Association Secretary Kerry Moore thanked the many who had contributed their expertise in producing the plan.
“The Plan represents this community’s expectations and is a call to action for ongoing engagement between the community, Shoalhaven City Council (SCC) and other levels of government,” she said.
“We hope that all levels of government – local, state and federal – will support us in achieving our strategic priorities in relation to our six key themes of climate change, Conjola National Park, community social interaction, village amenity, connectivity of villages and delivery of services, planning and the built environment.”
Click here for a quick glance at the key themes in the Community Plan
Click here to watch the video launching the plan
