Council adopted its new Residential, Commercial and Industrial Lands Strategy 2025–2045 at the first session of the September Ordinary Council Meeting in Cooma on Thursday 17 September 2026.
The new strategy sets our Council's vision for housing and employment growth in the Snowy Monaro over the next 20 years.
'This is one of the most consequential strategic documents we've seen during my time on Council,' said Mayor Chris Hanna.
'It shouldn't be news to anyone that land use and housing are critical issues facing the Snowy Monaro and Australia as a whole right now. That's why Council has really taken the time needed to make sure we got this strategy right.'
Community consultation on the draft strategy ran from July to September 2025.
Anchored by a digital consultation hub on Council's Your Say Snowy Monaro engagement site, the strategy team spent more than a month on the road in July and August last year.
The team spoke with community members from across the region to record their feedback and better understand local needs and priorities.
Council then considered each geographic area covered by the new strategy at ordinary meetings over the course of 2026.
'Taking it slow and focusing on one area at a time meant that us councillors, and the public too, could give each part of the strategy and each part of the region the time and attention they deserved,' said Mayor Hanna.
The work of Council's strategy team on the development of the new strategy received a high commendation at the 2026 Local Government Week Awards in August 2026, shortly before final adoption at the September meeting.
Council thanks the community for their participation in the development of the final version of the Residential, Commercial and Industrial Lands Strategy 2025–2045. We couldn't have achieved such a positive result for our region without your help and feedback at every step of the way.
Visit www.snowymonaro.nsw.gov.au/Council/Strategies to view the new strategy.
