2016-03-07 General Committee Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                   7 MARCH 2016


Corporate Plan Priority 7 – Diversification of our economy
While recognising our world class tourism industry, the Council will also focus on diversifying the
economy with an emphasis on “smart economy” businesses and rural futures.

Key achievements include:
 Council adopted the Noosa Local Economic Plan following a significant community and
   business consultation process. The review process included the development of a Noosa
   Economic Profile. Implementation of the Noosa Local Economic Plan is already underway.
 Council entered a two year funding agreement with Tourism Noosa to guide the management
   of the Tourism Levy and to outline relevant roles and responsibilities. Council has
   established a close working relationship with Tourism Noosa.
 Council has developed and opened the Cooroy RV stop and has commenced planning for a
   revamp of the Noosa North Shore Campgrounds.
 Council purchased the former Peregian Beach Bowls Club site in November 2014. The site
   has subsequently been cleared and a master plan adopted for development of the site
   following extensive community consultation. One of the purposes proposed for this site is to
   support the development of digital enterprises and start-up businesses in the local area.
 Support has been provided to encourage the ongoing development of the ICT sector in
   Noosa. Council has partnered in innovation networking events and sponsored the GovHack
   event.
 Council has approved 98% of development applications with the number of applications
   showing a steady increase in recent times.
 A considerable amount of time has been spent on building strong working relationships with
   key business groups. This includes:
   o    Councillors working closely with the Country Noosa Group;
   o    Support for the Noosa Junction Association (and ongoing funding via the levy); and
   o    Liaison with CCIQ Cooroy, CCIQ Noosa and the Hastings Street Association.


Other

The issues above are simply those major issues that aligned directly with the seven Corporate
Plan priorities. Of course, there are all of the other day to day service delivery issues that are
provided by the Council. From patching potholes to managing dogs, from issuing library books to
running a world class Aquatic Centre, from supporting bush care groups to assessing
development applications, from picking up garbage bins to mowing parks, from cleaning public
toilets to providing respite care, from providing heritage services to checking food service
premises, from cleaning drains to running The J, from beach cleaning to answering customer
inquiries about rates, from managing cemeteries to supporting sporting groups – the list goes on.
These types of services are the heartbeat of day to day local government activities and should
not be overlooked in reflecting upon our first term.




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