News

Workshops announced for Mittagong and Bowral

12 February 2013

Wingecarribee Shire Council is undertaking preliminary work to support the preparation of a series of town centre master plan documents for Moss Vale, Mittagong and Bowral. A community forum was held on 11 December 2012 for Moss Vale and forums have now been announced for Bowral and Mittagong.


Mark Pepping, Strategic and Assets Manager said “While we have employed an Urban Designer to assist in the preparation of the master plans, one of the most important aspects will be the participation of residents and business people in setting a vision for the future of our three main town centres.

“We are holding interactive forums in each area and the community is encouraged to attend these to provide guidance on how we can build on our most attractive features and move into the future with a clear vision” he said.

The Masterplans will provide a long term vision and implementation framework for how the Town Centres of Moss Vale, Bowral and Mittagong can best serve the future of the Southern Highlands. These visionary documents will play a key supportive role in ensuring major town centres within the Southern Highlands are effectively enhanced and promoted.

Residents and business people will have a number of opportunities to be involved in shaping the content of master plans as well as comment on draft documents once they are placed on public exhibition including:

“The forums will be interactive and a bit of fun. We want people to creatively identify what they want to retain as well as discuss their aspirations for the future. If this means drawing a picture, discussing experiences elsewhere, bringing photos or writing a story then this will all assist us to understand where we are headed” Mr Pepping said.

It is envisioned that the primary objectives set by the community will be to respect, protect and build on the area’s historic links, rural character and heritage to ensure the on-going vitality, economic robustness and amenity of each centre.

Mittagong Town Centre Master Plan Forum
Monday 18 February 2013 from 6pm to 9pm at the Highlands Golf Club, Old Hume Highway, Mittagong
RSVP by Thursday 14 February 2013. Phone: (02) 4868 0888  Email: customer.service@wsc.nsw.gov.au

Bowral Town Centre Master Plan Forum
Monday 25 February 2013 from 6pm to 9pm at Bowral Memorial Hall, Bendooley Street, Bowral
RSVP by Thursday 21 February 2013. Phone: (02) 4868 0888  Email: customer.service@wsc.nsw.gov.au

An appreciative enquiry approach will be used at the forums to:

  • Discover the "best of what is"— identify and discuss what we like about our town centres and what we believe works well.
  • Dream "what might be” —look at examples we believe work well and make a positive contribution.
  • Design "what should be"— define and prioritise the elements that will benefit our town centres.
  • Create a Vision of "what will be"— participate in discussions proposing key initiatives.