PILLAR 5 A HARMONIOUS AND PROUD COMMUNITY WITH STRONG SOCIAL SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE This pillar is about improving social cohesion through Council and community-run events that celebrate the area’s history and identity, and infrastructure and services.
The goals in this pillar are: • Goal 5.1: We create and support events that celebrate community and cultural identify and benefit the economy • Goal 5.2: Affordable and quality housing options are available • Goal 5.3: The community is socially and culturally connected • Goal 5.4: Diverse, vibrant community facilities and spaces are connected, well maintained and accessible • Goal 5.5: The community is safe and healthy.
Achievements • We adopted the Local Housing Strategy in August 2020.The Strategy links our vision for housing with the actions of the South District Plan (including housing targets) and Local Strategic Planning Statement 2040. It sets out the future policy direction for housing in the LGA in response to the gaps and issues. • We adopted the Inclusive Housing Strategy and Delivery Program in August 2020. • We prepared an Affordable Housing Policy which was adopted by Council in May 2021. The Policy outlines our position and approach to providing affordable housing in our LGA and contains the affordable housing targets from the Inclusive Housing Strategy and Delivery Program. The Policy details our commitment to increasing the range and supply of affordable housing in our LGA to meet the growing needs of very low to moderate income households, singles, families,
couples, seniors, people with a disability, students, key workers and the broader residential market, including first home buyers. • We ran a Library Fines Amnesty from 1 May to 23 July 2021 to support families experiencing financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. For $1 donations, members with overdue fines were able to have their fines waived. All donations collected as part of this amnesty went to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. • We partnered with 3Bridges Community to support their Inclusive Volunteer program. This program supports people who have experienced a brain injury with a trained buddy to volunteer together in meaningful roles and be given the opportunity to develop skills, connect with different people in the community, gain self-esteem and a sense of accomplishment. • Hurstville Museum & Gallery was recognised at the Museums and Galleries National Awards, receiving a Highly Commended award in the category for Best Temporary or Travelling Exhibition - Level 1 for its exhibition Artbomb: connect + create. • Our libraries won a Highly Commended Award through the NSW Public Libraries Association for ‘Innovation in Outreach Services’ for the ‘Salon Bibliothèque’ pop-up library in Hurstville Westfield. This initiative aligned with the outreach mission of our Georges River Libraries 2030 Strategy, providing an innovative approach to engaging with members of the community outside traditional library spaces. • Over the lockdown period, our libraries and Hurstville Museum & Gallery adapted to an online model offering: - Library of Learning instructional videos – a range of promotional videos have been developed to help the community use the library remotely - Biblioblog – an online space for Library Services to deliver some of our essential services and engage with the community remotely
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