Plans & Strategies

There is a need for the development of the municipality-wide Sport and Recreation Strategy to inform future capital works priorities and specific projects, including a master plan for the Sporting Complex and a business case for the development of a year round swimming pool. This will be used to provide a strong platform for advocacy efforts for funding.

This plan will assist Council to:

• Guide future assessment
• Determine what infrastructure projects are the priority if funds become available
• How facilities can be designed so they meet the greatest need, are sustainable and cost effective to run
• Encourage more people to be active close to home, and
• Attract sports and events back to George Town.

George Town Sport and Recreation Strategy

The George Town Council Events Strategy aims to gain optimal benefits for the municipality through events, and provides a framework for George Town's event related activities.

Through the Events Strategy we demonstrate that George Town Council is committed to making our municipality a place to live, visit and invest in. The Strategy establishes a clear pathway for George Town to maximise outcomes and optimise its resources and activities associated with identifying, attracting and supporting Council, community, and major events in George Town.

Events Strategy

Interpretation is about telling stories in a way that ensures they have meaning, both through the narrative and how it is internalised by people to stimulate understanding and consideration.

This strategy focuses on developing interpretation themes, high quality content and outlining the way they are discovered and accessed to add value to the George Town Municipality community.

Interpretation Strategy

George Town Health and Wellbeing Strategy

The aim of this strategy is to outline Council’s standards in relation to the management of roadside vegetation reduction and the protection and enhancement of the environmental value of roadsides throughout the George Town Council municipality.

Although the conservation of endangered and threatened species of flora is the primary objective of this strategy, road safety is the principal consideration for Council.

Roadside Vegetation Reduction Strategy

It is George Town Council’s intention in adopting this Strategy to work collaboratively with existing private industry to achieve mutually compatible outcomes in managing and providing facilities to enhance the visitor experience of recreational vehicle, campervan and caravan tourists, whilst they are accessing the many attractions within the municipal area.

Recreation Vehicles Management Strategy

The financial management strategy is a document that is intended to guide Council’s financial decisions. The following are the overall principles on which the financial management strategy has been based.

• The community’s finances will be managed to provide sustainable and responsible financial management of the community’s resources.
• Council will endeavour to maintain community wealth to ensure that the wealth enjoyed by today’s generation is also enjoyed by future generations.
• Council’s financial position will have a margin of comfort to enable it to absorb unexpected developments without having to resort to substantial rate increases.
• Resources will be allocated to those activities that generate community benefit.
• Managing the impact of the legacy of water reform to ensure that the community is not financially disadvantaged.
• Applying user pay principles where it is appropriate to do so and where there is a clearly identifiable benefit from using those facilities and or services.

This Strategy was adopted in June 2024.
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George Town Council Financial Management Strategy

George Town Council is the custodian of an extensive portfolio of infrastructure, community, and operational assets. For our services to operate efficiently and effectively, it is important for us to identify the assets they need to support them. These assets and corresponding services being delivered to the community is shown in the below documents. 

These documents were adopted in June 2024. 

This Strategy aims to assess the opportunities to plant trees across a range of street types in George Town. It develops a municipal planting plan, implementation strategy, planting guidelines and maintenance guidelines.

The Strategy provides a planning and design process for the planting of trees, including;

• identifies and prioritises streets that will benefit most from the presence of trees
• identifies typical street types and provides example tree planting solutions
• provides a best practice catalogue of design innovations for reference in creating site specific solutions.

Trees play a crucial role in improving the livability of our neighbourhoods especially amid the challenges posed by climate change. They offer multiple long-term benefits from ecological health, environmental regulation, social amenity and economic resilience. We need trees in our gardens, parks and reserves, and should be an essential component of all streets.

This Strategy was adopted in June 2024.

George Town Street Tre Strategy

This Community Safety Plan has been developed for the George Town Municipal area, aiming to deal with the community safety issues that affect the quality of life of people who live and work in the district.

George Town Community Safety Plan 2020 - 2030

A Community Strategic Plan is a ‘what’ document that describes what we, as a community, agree should be our preferred future. It captures shared aspirations and highlights what matters most. It also represents a partnership between Council and the Community. To achieve what we want for our young people and communities requires an alignment of efforts from all who could share and contribute.

No one organisation, including Council, can achieve everything in the plan. There are many groups, organisations, individuals and other levels of government who have a roles to play. This is the collective that needs to bring their efforts to the strategies and actions of achieving the preferred future. It is in their plans that the 'how' of actions and priorities will be found.

During 2023 a review of the direction and intent of the 2020-2030 Community Strategic Plan has been undertaken to ensure its vision, guiding principals and future directions are still relevant and useful. In the reviewed Community Strategic Plan (below) there are changes to strategic priorities which aim to reflect this balance of economy, community and environment. Throughout the plan there are also quotations from the community engagement process that reflect community sentiment.

George Town Community Strategic Plan 2020 - 2030

This strategic plan has been developed around this vision as a guiding principle based on the following:

• Private recreational pilots in Tasmania have limited options to hangar, maintain and fly their aircraft in northern Tasmania.
• There are development opportunities in industry and tourism that would be served by having an airport available for small charter aircraft.
• Emergency services have expressed an interest in developing some facilities to support fire-fighting efforts.
• The airport can support all year-round activity including night-time operations

George Town Airport - Master Plan

The plan has been developed in partnership with representatives from our local Aboriginal community who (along with those who identify as Torres Strait Islander) make up for 5.5% of our population. Other partners include Reconciliation Tasmania, Bell Bay Aluminium and elected representatives.

Reconciliation Action Plan

George Town Council’s Communication Strategic Plan (the Plan) outlines how we communicate and engage with the community, as well as key initiatives and actions that we will take to improve communication and engagement between Council, Stakeholders and the community.

We aim to build upon, clarify, and improve our current communication and engagement methods to ensure consistency across all communication platforms, and increase the community’s ability to access details of Council’s activities and decisions.

Communication Strategic Plan

The municipality-wide Sport and Recreation Strategy informs future capital works, priorities and specific projects, including this sports master plan. This plan will be used to provide a strong platform for advocacy efforts for funding, and will assist Council to:

• Determine what infrastructure projects are the priority if funds become available
• Decide how facilities can be designed so they meet the greatest need, are sustainable and cost effective to run
• Encourage more people to be active, close to home, and
• Attract sports and events back to George Town.

Sporting Complex Master Plan

George Town Council’s Advocacy Plan maps out the key priorities to assist in the future growth of the region.

Advocacy Plan

George Town Destination Action Plan (commonly known as DAP), was officially launched by the Hon. Peter Gutwein, Treasurer, at a community event held on Sunday 10th February at Windmill Point Playground area.

DAP is a new initiative that has proven successful in regional Victoria. The Tasmanian Government committed $220,000 to develop 32 action plans for key destinations across Tasmania, with George Town being identified as 1 of the 32.

The DAP process brought together representatives from all stakeholder groups that benefit from the visitor economy, local government, Tourism Northern Tasmania, industry and the community, who have worked in collaboration to develop the action plan. The plan was prepared by a facilitated workshop followed by regular meetings who considered and reached consensus on tourism development, marketing, management opportunities, and challenges. This plan identifies the challenges and opportunities facing George Town and strategies to establish achievable, affordable priorities that, if delivered, will increase George Town’s competiveness.

A core strategy is to recognise that visitors to the region are primarily attracted to destinations and experiences. Therefore, the development, marketing and management of the region’s destinations are pivotal to the success of the whole region. Through the collaboration of all stakeholders, the DAP identifies priority strategies and actions which, if implemented over 3 years, will enhance competitiveness of George Town as a primary visitor destination of the region. These strategies will also facilitate regional collaboration and cooperation.

Destination Action Plan

George Town Council Community Compliance Officers work tirelessly throughout the entire George Town municipality, from Hillwood to Low Head and Beechford to Bellingham, to ensure the safety, health and wellbeing of our community by carrying out their functions in line with this Community Compliance Charter. George Town Council employs a number of Community Compliance Officers, including a qualified Environmental Health Officer, for the purposes of maintaining the standards required by Council under legislation.

The purpose of this Community Compliance Charter (Charter) is to set out expected service standards and to provide simple and clear information about how George Town Council Community Compliance Officers undertake their statutory compliance and enforcement functions. These functions include but are not limited to:

• Investigating Dog Attacks
• Investigating Public or Environmental Nuisance Complaints including complaints regarding:
  • Dogs at large
  • Cat management issues
  • Noise
  • Untidy Premises
  • Smoke
• Investigating Environmental Health Complaints
• Conducting Food Licence inspections
• Conducting Kennel Licence Inspections
• Investigating Compliance with the Fire Hazard Reduction Program
• Undertaking recreational water and pool sampling
• Issuing Abatement Notices and/or Infringement Notices

Community Compliance Charter

A vision for the future The Hillwood Open Space Plan devises a framework for the future of the semirural residential settlement. It aims to improve walking, running and cycling infrastructure, and public open space in Hillwood.

The plan recommends actions that integrate the planning principles and strategies of the Hillwood Structure Plan 2021.

This Plan was adopted in June 2024

A Plan to look after nature, build stronger communities, design better developments, and keep the North East Coast wonderfully wild.

The Township Plans aim to define a coherent character for George Town’s coastal townships and rural areas. They seek to ensure that each community can move forward sustainably and sensitively through coherent objectives and actions.

Good strategic planning helps a council set future directions and balance the needs and aspirations of communities within the constraint of available resources. It also ensures that a council can distribute the costs related to planned services and community infrastructure fairly over time.

The Township Plans are a non-statutory plans that aims to understand each places (coastal townships and rural areas) key features, unique qualities, and subtle differences, and define a delivery plan for community infrastructure. Community infrastructure is defined as any park, reserve, street, trail, or facility managed by George Town Council.

This Plan was adopted in June 2024

A key strategy of effective financial management is the preparation and consideration of a long term financial plan.

The key reasons for the development and consideration of a long term financial plan are:

• To establish a prudent and sound financial framework over the next 10 years to ensure Council’s strategic goals are achieved;
• To provide an assessment of the financial resources required to accomplish the objectives and goals included in Council’s strategic plan;
• To establish a basis to measure the Council’s adherence to its policies and strategies; and
• To assist Council to comply with sound financial management principles, in accordance with the Local Government Act 1993 and to plan for the long term financial sustainability of the municipal area.

A long term financial plan is not intended to be static, but rather it is to be reviewed as part of the annual planning and budget process to incorporate any future changes in Council policy, new initiatives or strategic direction.

This Plan was adopted in June 2024.
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