IMPROVED health and public transport services, an all-abilities playground, skate park, dog and exercise park, a large fuel outlet and 24/7 ATM banking are among wish-list items Irymple residents want in their future township.
The Irymple Community Plan 2020-25, formulated following a survey of residents, also advocates more affordable housing options, new and diverse community events, a water park at the local pool and more trees and open green spaces.
The projects and activities follow a collaboration between Irymple Progress Association and Mildura Council to better understand community values, infrastructure needs, services, leisure activities and what the community would like to see in the next five years.
In addition to the survey, a community brainstorming session was conducted at Irymple One Hub in February last year inviting residents, community groups, business owners and students to drop in and discuss their ideas with members of the association and council staff.
About 35 people, including a group of Irymple Secondary College students, took part in the discussion, while 120 community members responded to the survey.
A workshop was subsequently held with the association to collate all feedback into key themes and actions and lay out the content for the Irymple Community Plan.
The community planning aimed to improve the effectiveness of public services, programs and projects, while taking into account emerging needs and supporting the development of local communities.
Cr Glenn Milne said the Irymple community and council staff were to be commended for their work in preparing a “really fantastic strategy”.
“The great thing about our community is people who live in our small towns actually love living in their towns,” Cr Milne said.
“You get this at Merbein, you get it at Red Cliffs, you get it at Walpeup, you get it at Murrayville, you get it at Ouyen and this shows through in this report,” he said.
“The vision that people who have been involved in this have got for Irymple … it’s a fantastic vision when you look at the points of what their expectations are and what they want to build.
“They want to celebrate their multicultural community, support youth and children’s activities; it’s about increasing shopping facilities, there was 24/7 ATM banking — all sorts of things that really build a great community.”
Councillors were told actions in the plan were ready for implementation and community groups could now apply for council funding to deliver the planned projects.
