Blayney Shire Councillors have recently adopted the 2016-17 Operational Plan and 4- year Delivery Program showing how Council will deliver the outcomes of our Community Strategic Plan. This plan with valuable input from our residents identified 6 major themes including:
1.
Grow the wealth of the Shire
2.
A centre for sports and culture
3.
Preserve and enhance our heritage and rural landscape
4.
Develop and maintain Shire infrastructure
5.
Build strong and connected communities
6.
Support Agriculture, Mining and Industry to work together
This year will see major road upgrades around Errowanbang Road stage 2 and Browns Creek Road with ongoing maintenance and repairs to our gravel road network. In addition, we will invest another $1 million into our bridge repair and replacement program. The Cadia special rate variation and grant funding from State and Federal government, will see $4.5 million allocated to our roads throughout the Shire.
The Redmond Oval redevelopment in Millthorpe will be completed along with the new canteen and fencing. Council will be developing the new carpark beside the railway station at Millthorpe to cater for the increasing number of visitors coming to enjoy Pym Street and the historic village.
Council will continue to support ongoing improvement projects at King George Oval and equestrian facilities at Blayney Showground with new irrigation work to improve the grass surface for soccer and have started planning for major upgrades to our CentrePoint swimming pool. A grant of $400,000 from the state government will continue the footpath project which is an important part of our active movement strategy and Council Financial Assistance grants and Heritage Assistance grants will continue to support projects for community groups and individuals throughout the shire.
The Blayney Shire Visitor Information Centre will see upgrades and refurbishments to improve the customer experience. Our Cultural Centre working group are close to revealing draft plans for a proposed integrated space for a library, museum and art facility. Council will continue to identify projects and funding opportunities in the Blayney Main Street Masterplan and the future Belubula River regeneration project.
A very important initiative of this year’s budget, which has been strongly supported by Councillors, is the proposal to appoint Development Coordinators to work with all our village and town associations to deliver their village community plans. This will be a major boost for these volunteer groups to help them source funding opportunities and promote their villages throughout the Shire and region.
The proposed merger between Blayney, Cabonne and Orange is still unresolved as we all wait for legal action to be finalised. While this part of our future is still very uncertain Councillors and staff are strongly focusing on the work and projects that we have throughout the Shire as we continue to improve and grow our community.