Parkes Liveability Issues Paper

Document Control

Item Detail

ECM Number

Department Planning and Community Services

Review time frame

Next scheduled review date

Adoption by Council

Resolution / Minutes number

Version History

Version 2

Date changed 08/06/2023

Modified by Annalise Cummings

Parkes Shire Council is preparing the Parkes Liveability Strategy to apply to the whole of the Parkes Shire.

The Parkes Liveability Strategy is a transformative way to identify, measure and strengthen the community’s liveability assets and plan for any necessary improvements from a local resident viewpoint. It focuses on our feelings about place, community and everyday quality of life in the Parkes Shire.

We are asking everyone in the Parkes Shire to participate in a survey being rolled out by leading social demographers Place Score. The Place Score Liveable Neighbourhood Survey is being used to provide specific local data on the liveability of Parkes Shire and will align with the 2023 Australian Liveability Census and other Place Score aligned liveability strategies. The survey will measure liveability in the Parkes Shire around the following liveability themes:

• Character

• Community

• Economy

• Environmental Sustainability

• Social facilities and services

• Housing and development

• Management and safety

• Movement

• Open space

Parkes Shire Council will also be undertaking a ‘deeper dive’ with interested organisations, community groups and individuals in addition to the survey to learn more about how services and facilities under its control can be reviewed in the future to improve liveability.

Because we will know more about how everyone feels about the Parkes Shire following the survey and direct engagement phases, the Parkes Liveability Strategy will become a vital tool in fine-tuning strategies and policies guiding sustainable development in the Parkes Shire.

As a first step in the Parkes Liveability Strategy process, the Parkes Liveability Issues Paper has been prepared to explain the framework that is to be applied to develop the Parkes Liveability Strategy and to foster interest and discussion from the wider community.

2 Project Background

In 2020 the NSW Government published Liveability and Local Government, a guide to embedding liveability within councils strategic planning processes. The guideline encourages NSW Councils to incorporate liveability principles into their Integrated Planning and Reporting framework and to assume a greater role in promoting and influencing liveability.

Parkes Shire Council is preparing the first Liveability Strategy to apply to the whole of the Parkes Shire. Council recognises the importance of liveability for all communities in the Parkes Shire, and importantly how the wider liveability concept can be used to enhance services and facilities under its control.

Other organisations dealing with health, education, aged-care, childcare, housing, public transport and other support services are being encouraged to participate in the Parkes Liveability Strategy.

Businesses operating in the Parkes Shire and their employees are also encouraged to participate in the Place Score Liveable Neighbourhood Survey.

3 Challenges & Opportunities

A lot has changed since the Local Government Elections in December 2021 that affects liveability and sustainable development in the Parkes Shire, including:

• Floods, bushfires and drought have demonstrated the need to build resilient communities and transport infrastructure.

• The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how quickly we can adapt and adopt new habits such as remote working and learning, different transport choices beyond motor vehicles and a rethink of housing supply and demand.

• There is more urgency around reducing greenhouse gas emissions from industry and transport, with the NSW government making a commitment to deliver a 70% cut in emissions by 2035.

• The Movement and Place framework introduced in 2018 is now fully embedded in NSW policy and targets for ‘15-minute neighbourhoods’ have been adopted in Active Transport (walking and cycling) Strategies. Micro-mobility (scooters, e-bikes and e-scooters) is also growing strongly, requiring consideration of these transport modes in the urban environment.

• The 6 Cities Region of the Greater Sydney has replaced the Metropolis of Three Cities, and there is renewed emphasis on regional planning and development. Nowhere else in NSW is this more evident than at Parkes, where the Parkes Special Activation Precinct is being developed along with Inland Railway and Newell Highway bypass upgrades and initiatives.

• Connecting with Country now informs the planning, design, and delivery of built environment projects in NSW.

In general, there is currently more growth and development in the Parkes Shire than has been experienced since WWII, when there were similar labour and housing shortages and rapid expansion of infrastructure, services and local businesses.

Before we progress too far in any one direction, there is a need to better understand how liveable the Parkes Shire is from the viewpoint of new and longstanding residents as well as to compare our place with other regional centres.

4 About the Parkes Liveability Strategy

4.1. What is Liveability?

The concept of ‘liveability’ is the collective term to describe indicators that contribute to a community’s and individual’s quality of life.

A liveable place is defined as one that is safe, attractive, socially cohesive and inclusive as well as environmentally sustainable; with affordable and diverse housing linked by convenient transport options to employment, education, shops, health and community services, open space and leisure and cultural opportunities.

4.2. What is the role of Council on Liveability?

Parkes Shire Council has a wide range of responsibilities under the Local Government Act 1993 and maintains its local services for residents and visitors of the Parkes Local Government Area (LGA).

Parkes Shire Council is taking the lead on the Parkes Shire Liveability Strategy, following the receival of grant funding under the Regional NSW - Business Case and Strategy Development Fund. Council is developing a Parkes Liveability Strategy framework that can be used by other government authorities as well as employers and community-based organisations operating in the Parkes LGA.

At the end of the process, Parkes Shire Council will adopt the Parkes Liveability Strategy to allow for the benchmarking of liveability themes into the future.

4.3. What is the difference between a Liveability Strategy and other Council Documents?

Parkes Shire Council has created a number of strategy and policy documents to assist with the administration of its duties in an efficient, consistent and transparent manner. The main Council documents are listed below:

• Parkes Shire Community Strategic Plan (CSP) - is the community’s 10-year strategic plan setting directions for Council to focus on.

• Parkes Shire Delivery Program - is Council’s 4-year plan on how to achieve the directions in the CSP.

• Parkes Shire Operational Plan - is Council’s annual operations plan and budget to achieving certain projects, programs and services.

• Parkes Shire Local Strategic Planning Statement (LSPS) - provides the blueprint for land-use, transport and infrastructure planning in the Parkes Shire.

• The Parkes Local Environmental Plan 2012 (LEP) - is the local statutory planning instrument regulating development and land-use within the Parkes Shire, with the exception of the Parkes Special Activation Precinct which is controlled under State Environmental Planning Policy (Regional Precincts) 2021.

• The Parkes Shire Development Control Plan 2021 (DCP) - is a non-statutory planning instrument aimed at guiding development that is permissible under the LEP.

The Parkes Shire Liveability Strategy is a very different strategy document that aims to record resident’s feelings about place, community and everyday quality of life in the Parkes Shire.

4.4. How is the Liveability Strategy being made?

The Parkes Liveability Strategy is being developed by Parkes Shire Council having regard to key background documents, including the following:

• Urban liveability: Emerging lessons from Australia for exploring the potential for indicators to measure the social determinants of health, University of Melbourne, 2014.

• 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, United Nations, 2015.

• Planning healthy, liveable and sustainable cities: How can indicators inform policy?, Urban Policy and Research, 2015.

• Global report on urban health: equitable healthier cities for sustainable development, World Health Organization, 2016.

• Understanding Regional Liveability: Discussion Paper, Canberra, The Regional Australia Institute, 2019.

• Liveability and Local Government – Embedding liveability within Councils’ Strategic Planning Processes: A stakeholder guide, NSW Government, 2020.

• The Australian National Liveability Study final report: Development of policy-relevant liveability indicators relating to health and wellbeing and recommendations for their dissemination, University of Melbourne, 2016.

• Creating liveable cities in Australia: Mapping urban policy implementation and evidence-based national liveability indicators, RMIT University: Centre for Urban Research, 2017.

This background information is being further informed by a Place Score Liveable Neighbourhood Survey which is designed to measure liveability themes in the Parkes Shire. The same survey is being taken by many other LGAs across Australia, which will allow for important insights, comparisons and benchmarking to be undertaken.

4.5. Place Score Liveable Neighbourhoods

Place Score is an Australian developed methodology that collects and analyses data directly from communities living and working in neighbourhoods across nine liveability themes.

The data from the Place Score Liveable Neighbourhood Survey allows for comparison between demographics groups, suburbs, councils and regions and identifies community priorities for improving local liveability and community wellbeing. The liveability themes are:

• Character

• Community

• Economy

• Environmental Sustainability

• Social facilities and services

• Housing and development

• Management and safety

• Movement

• Open space

Completion of as many Place Score Liveable Neighbourhood Surveys as possible will provide the Parkes Shire with a valuable tool in measuring liveability in the communities that make up the Parkes LGA.

Data from the Place Score Liveable Neighbourhood Survey will be used by Parkes Shire Council and potentially other organisations operating in the Parkes Shire to review and fine-tune their programs, strategies and policies on the environment, sustainable growth, health, education, housing, open space, transport, access and equity.

Introducing

the NEIGHBOURHOOD LIVEABILITY PLATFORM

The Neighbourhood Liveability Platform brings your Place Score data together into one cohesive multi-functioning dashboard that allows you to access your community insights instantly

Key benefits:

- Centralised data storage that allows for the sharing of rigourous and representative community insights across your organisation

- A quick and easily accessible evidence base for decision-making and investment using local priorities, community values and neighbourhood performance

- Reduction in project by project engagement where the loudest voices speak longest, but don’t necessarily represent the majority

- Linking community engagement findings with Council strategies

-The ability to track changes over time

Place Score’s proprietary data allows you to use our data across multiple departments and projects

Measuring place values and performance

Making decisions through evidence based data

Making investments and strategy

People at the heart of Place Score’s data

Tracking impact

Federal, State, Local Government, Private developers

Governance

Main street upgrades

Place plans

Planning

Strategy

Landscape

Waste, etc

Sustainability plans

Local environment plans

Cultural strategies

Asset management

Master planning

Council plans

4.6. Benefits of a Liveability Strategy approach

With the anticipated population growth in the Parkes Shire due to the Special Activation Precinct, it is important that we plan now for the needs of communities to maintain and improve the liveability outcomes.

The Parkes Liveability Strategy will allow Council to better understand what people love about living in Parkes Shire and measure key liveability indicators to better understand what can be done to improve our place, community and everyday quality of life.

Parkes Shire Council is preparing other new strategies dealing with open space, transport, community services, neighbourhood planning and urban design projects, which will all benefit from the Place Score census platform and further community consultation through the Parkes Liveability Strategy project.

Other government agencies, community groups and businesses are interested in learning more from Parkes Shire residents about their needs into the future.

Without a Liveability Strategy, there is less information to quantify what residents want in the Parkes Shire.

5 Liveability Strategy Objectives

The Parkes Liveability Strategy aims to:

• Measure liveability in the Parkes Shire using the liveability themes used in the Place Score Liveable Neighbourhood Survey.

• Better inform Parkes Shire Council and other government organisations and community groups on the community’s views on the liveability of the Parkes Shire and insights on how liveability could be improved in the Parkes LGA.

• Shape the policies and directions of Council’s Integrated Planning and Reporting Framework.

• Track the progress of change and development in Parkes Shire, based on liveability themes and outcomes.

• Realise the benefits of more informed community based planning and decision making.

6 Liveability Strategy Process

The preparation of the Parkes Liveability Issues Paper is the first step in the drafting of the Parkes Liveability Strategy. The next steps include:

1. Launch of the Parkes Liveability Strategy project and exhibition of the Parkes Liveability Issues Paper - to inform the wider community about the project, including an explanation of liveability concepts and background documentation as well as local issues and objectives.

2. Place Score Liveable Neighbourhood Survey - to obtain as many completed surveys as possible from members of the Parkes Shire community to ensure a good collection of data on liveability themes.

3. Draft Parkes Liveability Strategy - to record the surveys and direct engagement findings and to inform any new strategies proposed in response to preliminary engagement findings.

4. Exhibition of the draft Parkes Liveability Strategy - to provide further opportunity for input from government agencies, community groups, companies and individuals. The Parkes Shire Council Website will be used along with Council’s Facebook Page to provide further opportunity for new ideas, issues, places and suggested actions to be shared / recorded.

5. Finalisation of the Parkes Liveability Strategy - for reporting to Parkes Shire Council for adoption of the strategy and any recommendations in the final strategy document.

7 Community Engagement

Public participation is being led by the launch of the Parkes Liveability Issues Paper on Council’s website, which includes information to explain the framework for delivery of the Parkes Liveability Strategy.

The next step in the engagement process will be to open the Place Score Liveable Neighbourhood Survey from 13 June 2023 to 9 July 2023. Interested community members are invited to complete a Place Score Liveable Neighbourhood Survey online via Council’s website.

To make the survey as accessible as possible, paper copy surveys will also be available from:

• Parkes Shire Council Administration Centre.

• Parkes, Peak Hill, Trundle and Tullamore Libaries during normal opening hours.

In addition, a computer station is available at Council’s Planning and Community Services Department to complete the survey online.

A draft Parkes Liveability Strategy is intended to be placed on public exhibition in August 2023 to provide visibility of the survey / direct engagement findings as well as draft recommendations that respond to preliminary issues raised.

A number of meetings and workshops will be held during the exhibition phase to ‘drill down’ into the detail of the liveability themes.

8 Updates to the Parkes Liveability Strategy

Parkes Shire Council has taken a one-year subscription with Place Score for them to carry out the Liveable Neighbourhood Survey and for Council to access their database.

The year long subscription allows Council to check and interrogate data from the survey via an interactive dashboard. Liveability insights and findings can then be considered in the drafting of relevant Council plans and strategies for Parkes Shire residents to access.

Depending on the interest in the Place Score Liveable Neighbourhood Survey and the actual Parkes Liveability Strategy, Council intends to make provision for the updating of the Parkes Liveability Strategy as part of its Integrated Planning and Reporting Framework.