Why is the Redlands 2030 Community Plan so important?

Redlands 2030 Community Plan

The Redlands 2030 Community Plan is important because it is the voice of the people – ‘the people’s plan’. It expresses the hopes and aspirations of our community. It documents our vision for the future and provides a clear and detailed description of what that future should look like. The Redlands 2030 Community Plan is for Redland City what the recently released Queensland Plan is for Queensland.

The Redlands 2030 Community Plan provides certainty, direction and guidance for all who contribute to building, supporting and delivering the fabric of everyday society and the lifestyle our community seeks. This includes government (Council, State and Federal), business, non-government organisations, other agencies and the many community groups and clubs that have responsibility or interest in the Redlands. In terms of the planning for which Local Government in particular is responsible, a Community Plan is essential.

The Redlands 2030 Community Plan is the link between our community and the planning requirements of Council. Without the guidance provided by a Community Plan, without the voice of the people setting direction, a Council is effectively a ship without a compass. Without a Community Plan, all planning is based on the priorities decided by the elected members and those who influence them. The door becomes open to decision-making based on individual interests, election cycles and short-term priorities, with little or diminished focus on longer-term outcomes for the collective good.

In 2002, the missing link, our inaugural Community Plan (Redland Shire Community Plan Vision 2005 & Beyond), was embedded as the lead document in the (then) Redland Shire Council’s Strategic Planning Framework. Accordingly, the Council’s Corporate Plan and supporting Operational Plans are structured to support incremental progress toward delivery of the community’s vision.

Each Annual Budget recognised and funded this work. Key Performance Indicators and Annual Targets were devised to monitor and measure Council’s effectiveness and success in these efforts.Redlanders are well able to articulate what is important to their community and the outcomes they seek.   We are are also vigilant in monitoring success.

In 1995 during the first community vision process, we said what we valued about the Redlands were the bush, the bay, the red soil farms and the distinct villages. These values were embodied in Vision 2005 & Beyond. By 2010 we were seeing the ways in which rapid population growth and development were impacting those cherished values. We recognised that growth cannot continue indefinitely. We built this understanding into the Redlands 2030 Community Plan, which mandates that Redlands will lead Australia by acknowledging there are limits to population growth and having our planning documents reflect this.

Redland City in 2036

This key understanding – that limits to population growth are essential if we are to have the future we seek together with the other expectations of our Redlands 2030 Community Plan – gives the direction which must now be reflected in all planning work. The planning work currently being undertaken by Redland City Council and the State Government in drafting the new Redlands Planning Scheme (City Plan 2015) and the South East Queensland Regional Plan must reflect the direction of the people.

So, why is the Redlands 2030 Community Plan so important? One well known reason comes from Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision the people perish”  Both levels of government must honour, respect and respond in good faith to the Redlands 2030 Community Plan.

Redlands2030 has a page with resources and links to key documents related to the Redlands 2030 Community Plan .  Endorsed by the Mayor not long after her election in 2012, the Community Plan deserves greater exposure and weight in decision making than the current administration is doing.