The Shoalhaven 2035 Community Strategic Plan reflects the community’s vision for the city and is our guide for action over the next 10 years. It tells us:
- What we are striving to achieve
- Strategies we are using to achieve it
- Outcomes that will indicate we have reached our goals
Council takes a lead role in the implementation of this Plan, however, responsibility for achieving our long-term goals rests with all levels of government, businesses, industry groups, community organisations and individuals.
Each of the four pillars and related priorities have been identified by the community as well as a broad range of issues that are important them.
Council operates within the NSW Government's legislated ‘Integrated planning and reporting’ (IP&R) framework.
This framework ensures that the community's vision, pillars, priorities and aspirations for the Shoalhaven’s future are captured in a Community Strategic Plan.
This plan guides Council's strategic and operational planning, resourcing and service delivery. It also ensures ongoing monitoring, evaluation and community engagement.
IP&R asks councils and their communities to consider and respond to:
- Where are we now?
- Where do we want to be?
- How will we get there?
- How will we know when we have arrived?
How our plans fit together
The IP&R framework recognises that Council plans, policies and actions should not exist in isolation.
It provides an integrated process for Council to draw all the plans together and to understand how they interact and get the maximum leverage from our efforts.
It enables Council to plan and budget holistically to achieve multiple community benefits.
This forms the basis for Council’s four-year Delivery Program and Annual Operational Plan and Budget.
Community vision statement
A place of natural beauty with compassionate, resilient and thriving communities.
Our values
Core Values are the fundamental beliefs of a person or organisation.
These guiding principles dictate behaviour and help organisations to determine if they are on the right path and fulfilling their goals by creating an unwavering guide for all to follow.
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The Shoalhaven community has a higher average age than many other areas in NSW. An ageing population is a typical feature of coastal locations in NSW. We have a high retiree population, and our younger people often migrate to other locations for educational or work pursuits.
Approximately seven in every ten Shoalhaven City households are a family, with two in ten a single person. Nearly all occupied dwellings in the City are single houses, with most of the population living in detached low-density housing.
Shoalhaven City has a rich Aboriginal cultural heritage, with nearly one in 20 residents identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. These strong links with Aboriginal culture are further reflected in Council’s recognition of the strong spiritual ties that the traditional owners continue to have with the land.
What’s important to the community for this pillar:
- Improved access to health care services
- Disaster preparedness and recovery
- Tackling social isolation and mental health
- An inclusive and accessible community
- Creative and cultural activities
- Community safety improvements
- Maintenance of our parks and reserves and sporting facilities
Shoalhaven’s significant environmental qualities stem from its extensive natural areas, vast biodiversity and relatively small area of settlement.
The natural and rural landscapes form part of the cultural heritage and ‘sense of connection’ for the community and are an important tourism and economic assets.
Nowra is regarded as the major regional centre of Shoalhaven and is located on the banks of the Shoalhaven River, providing administrative, commercial and other high order services for the area.
Ulladulla and the Vincentia district (Bay and Basin area) are Shoalhaven’s major towns.
Shoalhaven’s major settlement areas are Nowra-Bomaderry, Milton-Ulladulla and the Bay and Basin area.
What’s important to the community for this pillar:
- Addressing and building resilience to climate change
- Transition to sustainable/renewable energy
- Better ways to recycle and reuse waste
- Protection and restoration of our unique natural environments
- Bypasses for Nowra and Milton/Ulladulla
- Maintaining our infrastructure
- Appropriate, sustainable development in keeping with our unique natural environment
- Restrict over-development in the coastal villages
Our City’s economy consists of a range of industry sectors resulting in a robust and resilient economy. Critical to the future economic growth of the region is the enabling infrastructure of roads and housing.
What’s important to the community for this pillar:
- Job opportunities close to home
- Affordable housing options for all
- Reducing cost of living pressures
- Creating growth through attraction of new businesses
- Manage the impact of tourism on our infrastructure
- Continue to improve Nowra CBD and the Shoalhaven riverfront
- Development and release of new employment lands
- Improved local roads, paths and cycleways for better connectivity
This pillar covers the services provided to the community, as well as the internal operations needed to support those community services and the effective governance processes needed to run a local government authority.
What’s important to the community for this pillar:
- Financial sustainability of Council
- Responsible administration of Council services
- Maintaining services and facilities across the City
- Effective leadership by a cohesive Council
- Ability to “have a say” in Council’s projects, policies and plans
The following list outlines some of the challenges which are felt across our communities and have been considered in framing priorities in the Community Strategic Plan.
- Cost of living pressures and housing affordability
- Renewal and maintenance of infrastructure
- Climate change, natural disasters and environmental sustainability
- Resilience, wellbeing and inclusion
- Traffic, transport and connectivity
- The natural environment
- Community involvement in decision making
- Recognition of and support for Traditional Owners
- Sustainable tourism
The Resourcing Strategy consists of Workforce, Asset, ICT and Long-Term Financial Planning and provides the link between Shoalhaven 2035 Community Strategic Plan and Council's Delivery Program and Operational Plan.
The Resourcing Strategy shows how we can help achieve our community vision in terms of time, money, assets and people.
Workforce planning
Our workforce plan will act as a roadmap to guide key workforce initiatives to ensure Council can meet future workforce and organisational challenges.
The plan considers the future needs of the organisation and the factors that will influence workforce needs and provides strategies and actions to respond to and meet those needs.
Asset management planning
Council is the custodian of community assets with a replacement value of approximately $5.5 billion.
There are legislative and community expectations that Council assets are managed to provide the greatest benefits, at the lowest whole-of-life costs, for all residents, landowners and visitors.
The Asset Management Strategy is a high-level action plan that gives effect to Council’s Asset Management Policy and gives the approach for developing Asset Management Plans.
The resourcing strategy also outlines the priority asset management actions.
Information communication technology strategy
Outlines opportunities to build on the recent investment made in systems and technologies to create an exceptional customer experience.
Long-term financial planning
The long-term financial plan aims to ensure Council remains financially sustainable into the future, reflecting the strategic priorities of Council and the community in the context of forecast economic parameters, service levels and revenue expectations.