Together Towards 2035

The Shire of Augusta Margaret River is inviting the community to get involved throughout March with the 2025-2035 Strategic Community Plan, ‘Together Towards 2035’. This vital document will guide the Shire’s long-term vision, priorities and actions, and the Shire is calling on all locals to have their say.

Every four years, all local governments in Western Australia must review their Strategic Community Plan. This plan, guided by the community, sets a clear roadmap that guides future priorities.

The current plan, ‘Our Place 2040’ set out a vision focused on sustainability, inclusivity and respect for our Aboriginal custodians. The plan has led to initiatives including resilient circular economy projects, agriculture and farmer support, infrastructure programs that deliver safe, well-maintained roads and pathways as well as many environmentally focused projects that protect and nurture the unique biodiversity of our shire.

“Our last Strategic Community Plan was drafted in 2020 with input from over 1,570 community members,” explains Shire President Julia Meldrum.

“But over the last 5 years the world, and our shire, have changed. The Strategic Community Plan that we developed back in 2020 is due for a refresh. Over those 5 years we’ve listened hard and worked closely with our community to make sure we’re still focusing on the right things.”

‘Together Towards 2035’ draws information from consultations, feedback, and community discussions that have been held over the past few years, identifying trends and concerns that are already impacting our community such as housing shortages, support for young families and soaring population growth.

“Together Towards 2035’ won’t be starting from scratch,” Ms Meldrum explained.

“We have an ongoing and proactive dialogue with our community, so have some significant insights that we can use as a foundation for our planning. We’ll be sharing a Discussion Paper that outlines what we’ve already heard, but we want to make sure that we are genuinely on the right track and there’s nothing that’s been missed.”

To gather community feedback the Shire will host workshops in both Margaret River (Thursday 6 March 5-7pm at the Margaret River Men’s Shed) and Augusta (Tuesday 25 March 5-7pm at Augusta Hotel).
Participants are encouraged to register in advance.

If community members can’t make it to the workshops, please go to Together Towards 2035 to read the Discussion Paper and complete the survey from Monday 3 March.