School children deny authoring Hawkesbury Place Plans Report, a crucial document Council intends to guide them in allocation of funding received from the State and Federal Governments.
The document was placed on public exhibition in May 2023 and received damning criticism from respondents for its inaccuracies and superficial description of future development of local villages leading people to comment that it looks like school kids wrote it.
This has raised the ire of local school kids who deny having any input into the document.
“It’s obvious we didn’t write it, kids wouldn’t make so many mistakes about our local community.”
“Everyone knows the Council cause lots of problems for people and we know to stay away from troublemakers. “
“You can tell kids didn’t have anything to do with it because they don’t list anything that would help make life better for us like better mobile reception and public transport to get places and stuff for kids to get together and do after school.”
“There is nothing for old people either. They want a local cemetery.”
“And we want adults to stop saying we wrote it. Adults need to take responsibility for their bad work.”
Concern about the Place Plan Report was also raised at the Bells Line Road Business Council networking meeting Q & A forum on 4 July with Hawkesbury Mayor Sarah McMahon, Robyn Preston MP, and Susan Templeman MP where serious “here and now problems” were raised, particularly the traffic congestion, parking and road crossing at Kurrajong Heights and Bilpin CBD’s.
Critical planning information missing from Place Plans Report.
Information usually found in planning reports designed by Local Government to direct future expenditure on physical and social infrastructure and is missing from Hawkesbury Place Plans Report. The missing information includes:
Demographics: This includes factors such as population size, age distribution, income levels, ethnic diversity, and educational background. Demographic data helps identify specific needs and preferences of different population groups in a place and is a key element in determining what current and future characteristic will be important to a particular place and it’s essential for ensuring the fair distribution of future government grants.
Infrastructure and Facilities: Assessing the existing infrastructure and facilities available in a place, such as transportation systems, utilities (water, electricity, sewage etc.), healthcare facilities, educational institutions, recreational spaces, and public services is not in the report. The report does not accurately show existing infrastructure or land use zoning. There is no analysis involving understanding the distribution of residential, commercial, farming, and public spaces and how this aligns with the community needs and goals, and consideration of possible adjustments or improvements to the place.
Health and Safety: Prioritizing the health and safety of community members has not been included in the place plans. Consideration of factors such as access to healthcare services, emergency response systems, crime rates, traffic safety, and disaster preparedness is not shown on the place plans.
Future Growth and Trends: Consideration of future population growth projections, economic trends, and technological advancements that may impact the community needs is not included in this document. So current and anticipated changes like the growth in agritourism are not included in the plan so sustainable growth, accommodating new industries, emerging technologies, and potential shifts in the community demographic makeup is not incorporated in our community place plans.
Community Engagement and Participation: The report states that information came from community forums held in August September 2022.
Identification of what community groups or individuals were present at the community forums providing information on the place plan is not provided. It is good practice to provide this information as it allows for review of who had input and who may have been underrepresented or not represented at these forums. The community can then see that a cross section of views were voiced. It is clear from the information in the Place Plan document that many voices from the Highlands were either not present or not heard at these meetings.
What can be done about this missing information?
You can ask our local elected Councillors to move a motion at a Council meeting requiring the General Manager to include this information in the Place Plan Report. Contact details for Councillors can be found at https://www.hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au/your-council/councillors/councillor-profiles