The Role of Local Government in Community Planning

The development and implementation of a community plan is a statutory responsibility of local government. It describes a Council’s aspirations for the community. However, it relies on extensive community engagement, broad-based community ownership and the strengthening of relationships with a range of stakeholders such as state government and the private sector.

The planning process should generate a high level of community responsibility and it is important that community stakeholders “own” the plan. On behalf of the community, Councils are responsible for facilitating the process to develop the plan and “steward” its implementation by a wide range of stakeholders. Local government is required to formally adopt the plan and report on progress with its implementation.

It is up to Council’s as to how detailed the community plan is. Many plans do not include the discussion of opportunities and challenges in the plan itself. They only describe broad strategies and actions. However, detailed issues need to be collated as an evidence base for broader strategies and as a detailed record of community issues raised during engagement.

While local government is responsible for the development of a community plan, many stakeholders have responsibility for implementing action. Indeed, many of the goals and strategies for the future of a Council area are often outside the responsibility of local government such as health and social services, schools and education, public transport etc., For these issues, Councils need to approach, negotiate with, and partner with state government, federal government, the private sector, and community organisations.

There is no guarantee that feasible options can be developed that meet stakeholder priorities and budgets or that stakeholders will take responsibility for. This may not meet community expectations and is one of the main risks in community planning. (This will be discussed later.) However, having actions identified in a comprehensive plan that has clear evidence and community input provides a stronger case for their implementation.

The role of a Council is not just to write a document. It is to mobilise the community and a range of other stakeholders to implement action. This requires councils to facilitate ongoing action, follow up on actions by others, provide feedback to residents, to manage conflict and mediate ongoing community involvement as action is rolled out.