Shaping Rutherglen’s future: Place Plan adopted

The four main themes of the plan - tourism opportunities, social capital, town centre considerations, and sustainable development - have been identified as key areas for action to create a liveable, sustainable, and resilient town. The plan also outlines a range of possible initiatives and projects, from a community and arts precinct hub to improvements to local parks and Main Street.

The Rutherglen Place Plan identifies a variety of possible initiatives and projects over a set timeframe, such as a community and arts precinct hub, Rutherglen silo precinct, Barkly Park masterplan, showgrounds masterplan, improvements to Lake King and Apex Park, and Main Street improvements. These initiatives will help to build on the social and economic potential of the township and articulate council's commitment to advocate and work towards this plan.

The plan sets short, medium, and long-term goals, with the short-term goals including implementing a pedestrian crossing on Main Street and seeking ways to improve the amenity from issues caused by traffic.

The medium-term goals include establishing a plan for redevelopment/refurbishment of the existing Rutherglen Tennis Courts as part of the masterplan for showgrounds, while the long-term goals include establishing options for diversifying the economy.

Initial community engagement for the Rutherglen Place Plan commenced in early 2022, which saw 126 survey responses and 161 comments. The community was also invited to rank their top five projects suggested for the place plan with 356 (152 students) responses received.

In February this year, a final pop-up engagement session was held to obtain further input on the draft.

At the December 2022 council meeting, councillors endorsed the plan with Councillor Emmerick Tiessl describing it as “visionary”.

“Hopefully council with the right advocacy will achieve this plan,” he said.

Councillor Peter Croucher said he was pleased to see “younger cohorts” engaged in the process.

“They will be the ones to enjoy the final outcomes of this project,” he said. “It’s a worthy project and I look forward to this development in the future.”

Councillor Roberta Horne also praised the collaborative approach to the plan.

“There was a great deal of input by the broader community. It's a very worthwhile project,” she said.

“I think one of the most exciting parts of this consultative process with the plans is that they were actually road tested once they had been to a certain stage.”

An interesting proposal of the Rutherglen Place Plan is the development of a community and arts precinct hub. This hub will provide a space for local artists to showcase their work, as well as host community events, workshops and exhibitions. The hub will also include community facilities, such as meeting rooms and a kitchen, which will be available for use by community groups and organisations.

The Barkly Park masterplan is another initiative outlined in the plan, which aims to create a more vibrant and accessible green space for the community. The masterplan will consider how the park can be used for events, as well as improvements to the park's amenities such as seating, lighting, and play equipment.

The Rutherglen Place Plan is designed to ensure that the town is well-equipped to meet the challenges of the future and become more resilient to change.

“The Rutherglen Place Plan development process has been an authentic example of co-design and community led future planning,” Indigo Shire’s Manager Community Development Carlene Lamanna said.

“The plan reflects a range of inspiration and aspiration actions for council to work towards in partnership with external funding agencies, governments and the community and sets a vision for Rutherglen to build on the social and economic potential of the township.”

At the monthly meeting on Tuesday night, council also adopted the Rutherglen Community and Arts Precinct Hub Concept Designs.