Noosa Council’s Place Program reached a milestone last week with councillors endorsing the Pomona Place Plan at its ordinary meeting with an implementation plan to follow.
The Pomona Place Program commenced in June 2023 with consultants Crew and Archipelago engaged to assist in the program’s design and delivery after Pomona village was selected in February 2023 as the location for a Placemaking pilot, given its character and distinct identity as an engaged community.
The Plan aims to make Pomona an even better place to live and includes actions related to the local economy, heritage, transport, connectivity, arts and environment.
It was developed based on community input and responses from three rounds of community consultation, engaging more than 500 people, and amended considering submissions.
During the ordinary meeting residents Nick Cooke and Hayley Hass asked why actions had appeared in the final plan that had not been raised in consultation and scrutiny phases of engagement. The actions included accommodation options for visitors, investigating future commercial and industrial land for Pomona and the installation of CCTV.
Staff replied that as part of the community engagement process, council made a commitment to capture all suggested actions from the community throughout the process.
When it comes to implementation of the plan Mayor Frank Wilkie said in response to feedback during the process, work started last year on a series of ‘quick wins’ for the town.
“New timber park furniture was placed throughout the village, the Stan Topper Park BBQ area was revamped and sandstone block seating plus better lighting for the basketball half court was also installed following residents’ feedback,” he said.
“These were just some of the areas where we were able to act quicky without major budget deliberations or the need to advocate to other levels of government.
“In addition, we’re working through short-term actions where the community can take the lead now, such as the creation of verge gardens.
Cr Wilkie said short term goals could be achieved over 1-2 years, but how some future goals unfold would be budget dependent.
“We’ve included funds in the current budget to fill missing pedestrian links between the high school campus and the village, and we’re working with TMR on the Northern Sunshine Coast Public Transport Strategy, to consider Pomona public transport improvements,” he said.
“The next step is to adopt an implementation plan for the short-term priority actions.
“This is a long-term plan and the major actions won’t all be delivered overnight but this will help ensure Council delivers projects the community considers most important to Pomona.”
One option raised in the plan is the creation of a Town Team made up of community members to lead the implementation of some actions.
Cr Karen Finzel said as a longterm Pomona resident she believed the plan was a good reflection of the community and conversations were already occurring around getting a Town Team together.
Cr Amelia Lorentson said 20 years ago the 2005 Pomona Town Centre Precinct plan identified priorities there were still relevant today.
People wanted more shade trees, cycleways, improved public transport, upgraded sports facilities and a swimming pool, she said.
Cr Lorentson said unlike the 2005 plan in which not much progress had been made council could progress this plan.
“The community want outcomes, pressure is on us to deliver it,” she said.
Cr Wilkie said the pilot project would guide how council captured and respected the unique character of our other towns and villages across Noosa Shire.
Staff said an evaluation report was currently being prepared with input from the project team, community and within the organisation, and would provide useful insight for future place planning processes for the organisation moving forward should Council choose to continue the Noosa Place Program into the future.
