Council tunes in for community feedback with ‘Listening Posts’

Published on 17 February 2021

Uralla Shire Council held a successful first run of ‘listening posts’ as a way to reach out to the community and give community members a chance to have their say and provide feedback directly to Uralla Shire councillors and senior staff.

Council conducted a trial run of listening posts in the first week of February at the Uralla Community Street Store and the Bundarra General Store, during which the public was invited to have a chat with councillors and senior staff.

The purpose of the listening posts was to provide an opportunity for members of the Uralla Shire community to give Council feedback on any topic and to assist Council with its future planning and decision making.

Over the course of three days, more than 100 people contributed to the listening posts by telling their stories and identifying important community issues.

Councillors and senior staff at the listening posts asked community members to describe what they valued most about the Uralla Shire and opportunities for improvement over the next 10 years.

Common themes raised by the community at the listening posts included the value of the Uralla Shire community and the friendliness of its people, as well as the importance of maintaining the historical and small town charm of the area. Ideas for future opportunity included infrastructure upgrades, economic development, improved accessibility, and renewables.

Members of the community were welcome to submit requests for Council services with details of the requests taken on the day to pass along to Council staff to address.

Uralla Shire Mayor, Cr Michael Pearce said the feedback from the community on the idea of the listening posts was overwhelmingly positive.

“On behalf of Council, I would like to thank all of the members of the community who stopped and gave their time to have a chat, and for having an in-person conversation with Councillors and Staff.”

“The feedback from these listening posts will be considered by Council in the future development of strategic documents and Council’s annual operational plan, and will assist Council’s decision making in the future.”

“By listening, Council is in a better position to develop its strategic planning which accurately reflect the core values of the Uralla Shire, and better represent the needs of the community,” Mayor Pearce said.

Given the success of the first listening posts, planning is underway for Council to extend the trial to Invergowrie, Kingstown and Kentucky.

Members of the community can submit feedback to Council any time via the Council’s website on the Contact Council page here.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Uralla Shire Council
council@uralla.nsw.gov.au | 02 6778 6300