Rochester place-based plan seeking feedback

Rochester Ward Councillor Paul Jarman thanked the committee for volunteering its time and efforts in developing this plan.

“It’s a testament to the spirit of this town that even in the face of adversity, (we) have a group of people that are still willing to take time out of their lives to make the town a better place to live for the wider community,” Cr Jarman said.

The place-based planning process involves looking at, listening to, and engaging with community members who live, work and play in a particular place to understand their needs and aspirations.

Campaspe Shire Deputy Mayor Tony Marwood said the responses had greatly influenced the committee’s work, garnered from the community in the wake of the 2022 floods and the intense focus on disaster recovery.

“The people of Rochester have shown incredible community spirit and resilience over the past year, and the plan aims to keep up the momentum to continue to recover and improve the town,” Cr Marwood said.

“The sheer volume of community participation in this process is quite astounding, with close to 1000 people engaging in some form of consultation, ranging from surveys, in-person pop-ups, workshops and interviews.

“For a town with a population of just over 3000, that is an incredible response rate.”

Residents can read the draft Rochester Place-Based Plan and submit feedback via the council’s website, under the ‘Now Open’ section, or in-person at the council’s Rochester Service Centre.

The first of the drop-in sessions at Major’s IGA was held on Friday, December 15, with three more scheduled over the coming weeks to discuss the draft plan.

Session schedule:

The Rochester Place-Based Plan committee, chaired by Dimity Pearson, includes Maureen Chiswell, Justin Cleary, Beck Hocking, Donald Hughan, Megan Keating, Karen Laing, Amanda Logie, Peter Romer, Maree Trail, Heather Watson and Bec Wolfe.