When you ask Gloucester residents what's great about Gloucester, invariably they'll mention that it's the people that make their town the best place to live.
Gloucester residents are finalising their draft local community plan this month and one of the key priority areas is being a supportive and active community.
The draft plan identifies that the community will always be the heart of Gloucester and the small-town family, friendly, caring nature of the community is something that is important to retain.
In an extension of this, the vision for the community is to become more inclusive and supportive of all sections of the community and accepting of diversity.
The community actions in the plan focus on strengthening opportunities for young people in Gloucester, recognising and respecting Aboriginal heritage and community and supporting social and cultural activities in Gloucester.
Almost 25% of Gloucester's population is aged under 25 years, so there's a range of actions in the plan for young people.
First Nations people make up 7.5% of the population, well above the regional NSW average of 5.5% and the draft plan contains actions to recognise the Aboriginal heritage of their town.
The plan also contains some actions to improve accessibility in Gloucester, where 6.4% of residents report that they need help in their day-to-day lives due to disability.
The Gloucester Draft Local Community Plan has been developed by the community, and is not Council's plan, instead it's a whole-of-community plan.
"This is why there are actions included in the plan that may be outside Council's area of responsibility. The draft plan identifies other stakeholders that the community and Council can work with to achieve the vision that Gloucester residents developed during earlier consultations."
Gloucester is being asked to review the draft plan, to decide which actions are the most important to focus on first, and to let us know if anything else should be included in the final plan.
There's a range of other inspiring actions in the plan, which aim to work towards the Gloucester community's vision for its future in the areas of infrastructure, environment and economy.
You can visit the link above to read the draft plan, and complete the feedback activities online.
The consultation is open until 4.30pm on Tuesday 14 September.
