Indigo Shire Council is currently undertaking a review of its Planning Scheme including the Municipal Strategic Statement and much progress has been made by its community focus group.

Indigo Shire Council Environment and Development Services Manager Ms Susan Cheetham said the strategic statement was Council’s key document guiding land-use planning and development in the Shire.

She said the document expressed the strategic planning objectives for the shire and the strategies to achieve them and provided the overall direction of land use planning in the Shire and provides the basis for the Indigo Planning Scheme.

“As part of this Planning Scheme Review process a focus group was established which comprises of community members, Councillors and Council officers,” she said.

“The Focus Group undertook a bus tour of the Shire on Saturday 19 August 2006 to familiarise members with the relevant issues throughout the Shire.

“Places visited included Chiltern, Chiltern Valley, Rutherglen, Wahgunyah, Barnawartha, Indigo Valley, Yackandandah, Kiewa, Tangambalanga, Beechworth and numerous farming and rural residential areas.

“This tour was specifically undertaken before the start of the first round of community consultation in this review process.”

Ms Cheetham said the first round of community meetings had now started and two of seven scheduled meetings had already taken place, one in Tangambalanga on 21 August and one in Kergunyah on 23 August 2006.

She said main purpose of these meetings was to identify relevant issues and opportunities in conjunction with interested members of our communities.

The remaining five community meetings are scheduled for:-

Further detail about the Planing Scheme Review process and community meetings can be found on the Indigo Shire Council’s website www.indigoshire.vic.gov.au or by contacting Stephen Swart at the Shire’s Yakandandah office.