4 About the Parkes Liveability Strategy

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.

4.1. 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

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

Asset

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.