It was fantastic to see over 80 people attending the Public Community Forum held on Wednesday 13th November, organised for locals to come along and be heard on what they see as the future of Canowindra.
There was a high attendance by people who have moved here in the past seven years and this is encouraging for the future of the village. Mayor of Cabonne Kevin Beatty welcomed everybody and said how important this was as a first step for Canowindra to put together their Community Strategic Plan with projects ‘shovel ready’ for when grants and opportunities arise.
Facilitated by Caddie Marshall, there were some very sound ideas generated as part of this workshop. Each person attending was introduced and asked to say what they wanted to see as plans for Canowindra and then the room was broken up into tables to allow for brainstorming, followed by voting on the different categories. These included Canowindra’s assets, its gaps, its opportunities and perceptions on what would make Canowindra a successful village.
Some issues mentioned, included more trees being planted is already part of Cabonne’s strategic planning for the villages however has been put on hold due to the drought.
The next step is a further public meeting, to be held on Tuesday 10th December 2019, at 6pm at the Canowindra Services Club when all of the ideas will be presented back to the village so that decisions can be made to prioritise what should be done first and what is really needed as a village to ensure the ongoing viability with everybody working towards a common goal.