Council has endorsed its new Active Recreation Plan, following engagement with the community earlier this year.
The plan, which Councillors unanimously endorsed on Tuesday, 10 October, will guide Council’s decisions and planning to encourage people to be healthy and active in the community.
Yarra Ranges Mayor, Jim Child, said the plan would remove barriers to activity and design infrastructure and programs to benefit everyone getting active.
“Getting active is one of the best things you can do for yourself – it improves physical heath, has proven mental health benefits and can be a fantastic social connector, creating lifelong friendships through group activities, team sports or simple exercise,” Cr Child said.
“According to VicHealth, more than 42 per cent of women and 36 per cent of men in the area aren’t active enough, but almost 90 per cent of people said they would be more active if there was something interesting, appealing, accessible and convenient for them.
“That’s where this plan comes in. The Active Recreation Plan has key principles to guide our actions and decision making – it encourages investment in recreation, improvements to current programming and renewal of infrastructure, to give the community every opportunity to get active.
“This plan sets a target to increase physical activity levels in the community by 15 per cent over 10 years, encouraging people to take part in at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day, for at least five days.”
The draft plan was open for community engagement through July and August, with 89 per cent of feedback received in support of the plan.
Cr Child said community feedback was positive, identifying opportunities for new facilities, safety and access improvements and event programming.
“I’m thankful to the many community members who took time to take part in our online engagement or have a chat at community pop-ups,” he said.
“Through our engagement, we’ve identified road crossings, lighting, shared use paths and trail links in need of improvements and interest in more events to give opportunities for parents, families, and older adults to get active.
“I think this plan will create some fantastic opportunities across the region in the coming 10 years, and I’d like to thank everyone involved in making it a reality.”
The plan will be implemented as budget is allocated and funding becomes available. Some of the larger projects are dependent on grant opportunities.
The Active Recreation Plan has been partially funded through a grant from Sport and Recreation Victoria.
