Waroona Shire Council vote to begin public consultation on new Waroona town centre revitalisation strategy

Public consultation has begun for the new Waroona town centre revitalisation strategy, as the town looks to recapture a common identity. Submissions are due early next year on the strategy, after the Waroona Shire Council voted to advertise it for public comment at a meeting last week. Council documents stated the strategy was centred around building Waroona into a more vibrant, memorable and unique town for people to visit and stay. The Town Centre Task Force — comprised of community members — was established in April last year to provide input and guidance on development of the strategy. The shire then appointed Element Advisory to prepare the plan, which was presented to the council after the taskforce’s final meeting on October 19. Council documents said progression of individual projects would require ongoing engagement with stakeholders, including community members and business operators, likely in the form of small community working groups. Premier Mark McGowan previously told the Reporter that Waroona was a prime spot for businesses to thrive and tourists to stop and stay. “Waroona is a beautiful place and a delightful country town and the key to these sorts of places is to make sure people have a reason to stop,” he said in May. “(It) is close enough to Perth that you can come here and have a wonderful country getaway and you don’t have to drive a couple of days to get there. “It’s got that appeal and it’s close and it’s got this beautiful cool climate in winter and delightful outlook and local dams and nature and so forth, so you’ve just got to make the most of it and that’s what this project is about.” The revitalisation strategy said Waroona needed to find a “point of difference” from surrounding areas and build on these to grow. “With many of the surrounding towns improving their service offer, tourists and locals alike have been drawn to visit them resulting in Waroona leaking visitation and investment,” the revitalisation strategy read. “To support growth and renewal of the town centre it is important to re-capture this trade as well as attract new visitors.”