THE Bass Coast Shire Council has its Healthy Communities Plan 2025-29 out for public consultation at the moment and there’s already been a healthy response to the call for feedback.
So, what should be included in the shire’s healthy communities plan, given they don’t run a hospital or even a medical centre?
Dozens of residents, who attended community pop-up sessions at Cowes, Corinella, Kilcunda and Inverloch in recent weeks have made some pretty insightful suggestions.
Here are a few of them:
• Critical need for social housing
• Homelessness
• More female doctors
• New Pickleball stadium
• More police presence (we don’t feel safe)
• Waiting times to see a doctor
• Mental health for teens
• Well-maintained footpaths and walking tracks
• Importance of a local newspaper
• Transport to get to activities
• Exercise, sleep and good food
• Supported programs for mums and bubs
• Subsidised Pilates’ classes
• Re climate anxiety – activities that work towards mitigating the effects of climate change including letter writing to pollies etc.
These and many more suggestions on Post It Notes will be categorised and recorded to help inform policymakers about what the community wants and needs to lead a healthy life in the local community.
Community Strengthening Officer and a member of the public consultation team at the Bass Coast Shire, Shirley Egan, is delighted with the feedback so far and is encouraging others to participate by going online and filling out a survey form on the Engage Bass Coast website by the deadline of Sunday, May 25.
“We’ve had a lot of feedback which is great and it’s so important to get that level of participation,” said Ms Egan.
“If the community doesn’t tell us what they want we can’t include it in the new plan.”
And if the provision of community health services is outside the council’s own area of responsibility, such things as access to doctors, funding for sporting facilities, mental health support and social housing; these things can go into the council’s advocacy priorities for government.
Following workshops with service providers the shire will produce a draft plan by July/August which will be put out for further public consultation.
But this stage of the process is a chance to have your suggestions for a healthy community included in the draft and ultimately the plan which will guide council’s healthy communities initiatives going forward.
