Council calls for mid-consult feedback on St Arnaud Tourism Action

Published on 13 January 2022

Tourism Action Plan.png

Northern Grampians Shire Council is midway through its community engagement phase for the St Arnaud Tourism Action Plan and is calling for further feedback from the community before finalising the plan.

As an outcome of preliminary consultations in December which included site visits to key tourism locations and discussions with stakeholders and interested community members, a survey has been drafted asking for comment to gauge interest in several tourism development projects. The project concepts specify “Five Game Changers” for St Arnaud region grouped into strategic areas of:

  • Heritage
  • Artisan
  • Nature-based and
  • Agritourism

The survey has been built using council’s POZI mapping system and site visitors can navigate around a map of St Arnaud and district and zoom in to enter comments at the nominated tourist locations of interest established by the first round of consultations. For simplicity’s sake, council is calling the online survey a Comments Wall and the locations identified are as follows:

  • Pioneer Park and Lord Nelson Mine
  • Botanic Gardens Heritage Precinct
  • Napier Street Facades and Retail District
  • Railway Station and Silo Art
  • Teddington Reserve

The Comments Wall has been published as a paper-based survey as well and will be available at council’s customer service office in St Arnaud, St Arnaud Library, Community Resource Centre, and the St Arnaud Visitor Information Centre.

In addition to the survey, council will also be holding a Community Forum to provide an update on the initial round of consultation and seek further comment on the concepts for tourism development. The forum will take place on 15 February 2022 from 7pm to 9pm in Stewart Hall at the St Arnaud Town Hall. If Covid is still active in the community at that time, the forum may be moved to an online meeting.

Northern Grampians Shire Council Mayor, Cr Tony Driscoll is delighted by the community’s interest in this project and hopes to see more residents and business owners participate in this second stage of consultation.

“It is fantastic to see some very clear-cut strategies already drafted by this consultation process and every location identified in the first round of the St Arnaud Tourism Action Plan has merit as a visitor attraction and valuable feature of the St Arnaud and district tourist experience,” said Cr Driscoll.

“I encourage everyone who has a stake in the Action Plan to bring their ideas to the table either via the online Comments Wall, the paper-based version or in person at the Community Forum. Council is looking forward to your input.”

The survey will remain open until 5pm, Tuesday 1 March 2022. If you are unable to attend the forum, completed surveys are welcome to be submitted by the closing date marked “St Arnaud Town Hall, PO Box 580 Stawell 3380” or emailed directly to community@ngshire.vic.gov.au

For further information on the project please visit council’s Have Your Say web page: www.ngshire.vic.gov.au/HYS  

 

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