{"id":97552,"date":"2015-02-25T01:38:59","date_gmt":"2015-02-24T15:38:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=97552"},"modified":"2020-11-20T13:20:40","modified_gmt":"2020-11-20T03:20:40","slug":"blackbutt-votes-for-master-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2015\/02\/25\/blackbutt-votes-for-master-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Blackbutt Votes For Master Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_97560\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-97560\" style=\"width: 740px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/20150224-blackbutt3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-97560\" title=\"20150224 Blackbutt Community Forum\" src=\"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/20150224-blackbutt3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"740\" height=\"460\" srcset=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/20150224-blackbutt3.jpg 620w, https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/20150224-blackbutt3-300x186.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-97560\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Planning a better Blackbutt &#8230; Julie Taylor-Dixon, from Wiikirri Bed and Breakfast Retreat, compere Jeff Connor, and Anne Woodrow, from the Yarraman branch of the Bendigo Community Bank<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>February 24, 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Blackbutt community&#8217;s three top priorities for the coming five years are the development of a Community Space Master Plan for the town; building a supermarket; and wider educational opportunities for Blackbutt-Benarkin&#8217;s youth.<\/p>\n<p>Other priorities include establishing a community bus service to provide transport for residents unable to drive; improved community services for the elderly; the establishment of a part-time or full-time Blackbutt dental clinic; a recycling depot; and an expanded youth scholarship program.<\/p>\n<p>The community&#8217;s goals for 2015-2020 were decided at a public meeting called by Blackbutt&#8217;s Bendigo Community Bank branch at the Blackbutt Memorial Hall last Wednesday night.<\/p>\n<p>Almost 64 Blackbutt and Benarkin residents attended the meeting, which was compered by Bendigo Community Bank board member Jeff Connor, assisted by staff from the branch.<\/p>\n<p>The meeting &#8211; the first of its kind held since the Blackbutt branch opened in 2010 &#8211; was called to review progress on goals the community set in 2010, and decide on a new set to pursue in the years ahead.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Connor said the branch donated profits from its operations back to the local community.<\/p>\n<p>It wanted to be sure it was putting those funds towards projects that the local community genuinely wanted.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Connor told the audience that at the last public meeting in 2010, Blackbutt residents said their nine most important minor goals were: better lighting for community facilities such as the Blackbutt Showgrounds and football field; improved community amenities, including fixing the town clock; creating &#8220;Welcome to Blackbutt&#8221; signs, more community seating and general town beautification; and improvements to the Blackbutt Memorial Hall.<\/p>\n<p>The community also wanted to see the creation of bike tracks and walking trails in the area; to fix a local footpath which had fallen into disrepair; to creating a Blackbutt-Benarkin town website; obtain a shade cloth for the Blackbutt Kindy; improve disability access to the town&#8217;s shops and footpaths; and to form a community group.<\/p>\n<p>At the same meeting, the following major projects had also been identified:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Improving aged care services in the town<\/li>\n<li>The creation of a dedicated medical service centre<\/li>\n<li>Development of a town museum<\/li>\n<li>Introduction of a community bus service<\/li>\n<li>Attracting more businesses to set up in Blackbutt<\/li>\n<li>Improved swimming and sporting facilities<\/li>\n<li>Development of better youth facilities<\/li>\n<li>Stationing a First Response vehicle in town<\/li>\n<li>Improving road safety with a pedestrian crossing, and fixing the Cooyar Creek bridge<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Mr Connor then walked the audience through both lists to examine how far the town had come during the past five years.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Most of the minor projects had been achieved &#8211; some with direct funding assistance from the branch; some through volunteer community efforts; and some (like the opening of the Blackbutt-Linville Rail Trail) fortuitously.<\/p>\n<p>As far as the major projects went, many had also been partially or fully achieved, although a few remained &#8220;actionable&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Audience members were then asked to draw up a new list of major projects through an hour-long brainstorming session.<\/p>\n<p>After this, all ideas were put on a whiteboard and voted on to determine the community&#8217;s priorities.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The development of a Community Space Master Plan emerged as the town&#8217;s top priority.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The view of those at the meeting was that they wanted to see a long-term, professional plan developed for the town&#8217;s public and open spaces which would yield better sporting facilities, better streetscaping, improved public spaces and a community botanical garden.<\/p>\n<p>The second highest priority was the establishment of a modern supermarket in the town.<\/p>\n<p>While the meeting acknowledged the South Burnett Regional Council was already engaged in trying to get a private developer to build a supermarket on the site currently occupied by the Memorial Hall, the meeting wanted to underline that this remained a top priority.<\/p>\n<p>Audience members at the meeting also said they wanted to see more educational opportunities for the town&#8217;s youth, partly to retain them in the area and partly to make better use of energies which might otherwise go to waste.<\/p>\n<p>A community bus service &#8211; an unfilled goal from the 2010 list &#8211; remained the town&#8217;s fourth major goal, followed by improved community services for elderly residents such as a Meals On Wheels service and better disabled access around town; a dental clinic; and a recycling service.<\/p>\n<p><strong>At the conclusion of the two-hour meeting, Mr Connor thanked everyone who attended for their genuine interest in building a better Blackbutt, and the positive and constructive way the meeting had been conducted.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>He also presented a defibrillator to the Blackbutt Golf Club as a $5000 gift from the bank branch to mark the meeting.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Connor noted the average age of Blackbutt residents was steadily rising, so installing defibrillators at the town&#8217;s community facilities might help save lives in the future.<\/p>\n<p>The Blackbutt branch will now consider ways it can assist the community to reach its new goals over the coming five years.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_97561\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-97561\" style=\"width: 740px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/20150224-blackbutt1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-97561\" title=\"20150224 Blackbutt Community Forum\" src=\"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/20150224-blackbutt1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"740\" height=\"460\" srcset=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/20150224-blackbutt1.jpg 620w, https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/20150224-blackbutt1-300x186.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-97561\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Members of the Blackbutt Golf Club were delighted to receive a defibrillator plus training in how to use it &#8230; the machine was a special gift from the bank branch to mark the occasion<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_97562\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-97562\" style=\"width: 740px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/20150224-blackbutt2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-97562\" title=\"20150224-blackbutt2\" src=\"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/20150224-blackbutt2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"740\" height=\"315\" srcset=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/20150224-blackbutt2.jpg 620w, https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/20150224-blackbutt2-300x128.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-97562\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">More than 60 Blackbutt and Benarkin residents attended the meeting to help formulate the towns&#8217; goals for the next five years<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Blackbutt community&#8217;s three top priorities for the coming five years were decided last Wednesday<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":97560,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[218,83],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.11 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Blackbutt Votes For Master Plan - southburnett.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2015\/02\/25\/blackbutt-votes-for-master-plan\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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