Community Plan Action Plan 2024-2025
This Community Plan Action Plan 2024-2025 is the annual supplement to the Community Plan 2021-2025.
It outlines the key actions we will focus on delivering in the financial year 2024-2025 under our five goals:
- Connected community
- Liveable neighbourhoods
- Strong local economy
- Sustainable environment
- High-performing organisation
Download and view the Community Plan Action Plan
The Proposed Action Plan plays a pivotal role in working towards the vision and strategic direction embedded in Whittlesea 2040 and the Community Plan 2021-2025.
Community Plan Action Plan 2024-2025(PDF, 12MB)
View the key actions
Connected community
- Consult and develop the community local law to make our municipality safer.
- Engage with culturally and linguistically diverse community groups to improve access to Prevention of Violence Against Women programs, services, and resources.
- Implement new cat management initiatives, including the cat confinement local law.
- Increase community emergency resilience and preparedness, including for people most at risk or at risk communities, to address emergency incidents such as fire, storm, flood, and pandemic.
- Deliver the Emergency Services Exhibition in partnership with service organisations to increase community awareness, build relationships and educate around emergencies.
- Finalise the Connected Community Strategy to guide how we create a socially cohesive, healthy, safe, and engaged community.
- Increase partnerships with community groups and event providers so more people attend our vibrant events.
- Complete design and commence construction of an Aboriginal Gathering Place to foster connections to culture, heritage, land, and healing.
- Continue to deliver the Community Leadership Program to support residents’ leadership skills across community and civic projects.
- Provide advice and support Neami National and other partners to establish the Mental Health Local Service for Adults and Older Adults.
- Increase support to senior citizen groups via an expanded grants program.
- Commence design and site preparations of the regional aquatics and sports centre in Mernda.
- Increase provision of netball facilities to support increased female participation in sport and recreation.
- Design the tennis facility at Huskisson Reserve.
- Develop a Fair Access Policy Implementation Plan to increase participation, equality and inclusion in local sports and recreation, specifically among women and girls.
- Create vibrant and welcoming community spaces with activities and programs responding to local community needs.
- Commence constructing the Community Activity Centre in Patterson Drive, Donnybrook.
- Establish a City of Whittlesea Youth Council.
- Adopt the Whittlesea Reconciliation Action Plan 2023-2027.
Liveable neighbourhoods
- Finalise the Liveable Neighbourhoods Strategy to drive Council's program of work to deliver desirable transport, planning, urban design, open space, and housing outcomes.
- Commence design to improve access to the Whittlesea Township Park to better connect our community.
- Continue to upgrade Whittlesea Public Gardens.
- Continue to upgrade public toilets in line with the Public Toilet Amenity Plan.
- Continue the construction of Granite Hills Major Community Park.
- Deliver the local road resurfacing works.
- Deliver the local road reconstruction works.
- Improve disability access to public transport.
- Commence streetscape improvements at Gorge Road shopping precinct in South Morang.
- Advocate for increased affordable and accessible housing in the municipality to address the significant shortfall for local residents outcomes.
Strong local economy
- Adopt the Agri-Food Action Plan to attract investment in the sector and support existing businesses.
- Facilitate partnerships between industry, education and job seekers through targeted initiatives supporting under-employed people including people with a disability.
- Develop a business grants and incentives program for business attraction and support.
- Deliver industry development programs for priority sectors.
- Finalise the refreshed Epping Central Structure Plan.
- Continue implementing the kindergarten reform in conjunction with the Department of Education.
- Open the Mernda Town Centre Community Library and commence works on the Library Hub at Kirrip Community Centre.
Sustainable environment
- Continue to implement the Rethinking Waste Plan to support our community to become a leader in sustainable living.
- Educate our community around illegally dumped rubbish to enhance compliance, and keep the city clean via an intensive dumped rubbish program.
- Continue to renew and upgrade Peter Hopper Lake in Mill Park.
- Continue to implement the Green Wedge Management Plan.
- Improve conservation reserves fire management planning and operations.
- Undertake a study to understand the current and future carrying capacity of wildlife, i.e. how many healthy wildlife numbers our Whittlesea environment can sustain now and into the future.
- Continue to improve the energy efficiency of Council buildings and facilities including solar and lighting upgrades.
- Investigate options for introducing a local resource recovery shop.
- Develop a Readiness and Activation Guideline to mitigate the effects on our community in extreme heat events, particularly to support vulnerable community members.
High performing organisation
- Make it easier to interact with Council by building a customer portal, adding more services online and upgrading the city’s website.
- Launch a new service centre in Whittlesea township.
- Continue to advocate for Council's priority projects for better community outcomes.
- Continue to implement the Workforce Plan to attract and retain skilled staff to deliver for our community, including an inclusive employment program.
- Continue to implement the Gender Equality Action Plan to ensure a safe and equal workplace and progress towards becoming an Employer of Choice.
- Finalise the Long-Term Community Infrastructure Plan.
- Continue implementing our place-based service delivery model to be responsive to the needs of our local communities.
- Finalise the High-Performing Organisation Strategy to guide effective and efficient use of resources, and good governance at Council.
- Provide information and support to residents experiencing severe mortgage stress in line with Council's Financial Hardship Policy.
- Implement Council's Research and Analytics Plan to enable informed decisions for the benefit of our community.
- Identify key initiatives that have a 'direct and significant impact on community' for gender impact assessment under the Gender Equality Act 2020 operating environment.