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Three engagement methods for community-led planning projects
Following on from our blog Ultimate guide: Community-led planning resources, we are continuing to notice councils become increasingly aware of the importance of community-led planning projects. There is a growing recognition of the success of the “bottom-up” approach...

Social licence: What is it? How do you gain and maintain it?
Social licence is critical to your success when delivering a project or working within an organisation that is publicly facing like local government. But what exactly does this mean and why does it matter? More importantly, how do you gain and maintain a social...

Local government as an enabler to the visitor economy
In NSW there are 128 local government areas each with unique attractions that lure visitors to the area. In a post COVID-19 world there is likely to continue to be reduced opportunities for overseas travel and a greater focus on domestic travel options. This makes it...

Change to zone names in the standard LEP
The NSW Government is renaming the ‘environment zones’ to ‘conservation zones’ under clause 2.1 Land use zones of the Standard Instrument – Principal Local Environmental Plans. Existing business and industrial zones will also change. We explain what this means for local councils.

Ultimate guide: Community-led planning resources
What is community-led planning? In essence, community-led planning (whatever its form) puts the community in the driver’s seat to determine the outcome. Community-led approaches are being increasingly recognised and championed as the way forward in disaster recovery...

Running an effective and efficient public hearing
An important responsibility of a local council is the management of ‘public land’ under its care and control. Importantly, all ‘public land’ must be classified as operational or community land. The classification of the land determines how the land is managed and...

Practical options for preparing Crown land Plans of Management
The recent announcement of changes to the Crown Land Management Regulation 2018 (the Regulation) has resulted in some modifications to how local councils, as Crown land managers, may go about the preparation of Plans of Management (POM) for Crown land. Key changes for...

Reflecting on the impacts of recent emergency events in our regions
As a business based in regional NSW with a strong focus on serving local communities and local councils, we have seen and felt the impact of the string of emergency events and natural disasters in recent times. In this context, the NSW Auditors report on local...

Social media and politics – a risky mix?
Lets face it – politics and social media can be a risky mix. Hardly a day goes by where a politician (either local or international) isn’t involved in an online scandal or social media pile on. Around election time, the risks of being online are likely to increase....

Community-led planning – communities as changemakers
Community-led planning places community groups and individuals in the driving seat to achieve change and take action in their local area. Community-led approaches are a powerful tool for building more resilient and connected communities. Something that is now more...
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