MidCoast Council is getting ready for the next step of the Regional Economic Development Strategy (REDS) after holding an information session in Gloucester on Monday, July 24.
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Gloucester was one of four locations where consultants engaged by the NSW Government, Sapere presented to a group of people representing the community, local businesses and not for profit groups from Gloucester and some surrounding communities, including Stroud Road and Stroud.
"There was a very high level of interest in the statistics presented on the region," council's manager growth, economic development and tourism, Deb Tuckerman said.
The consultants emphasised that the statistics are only part of the story about what is happening in the economy and that it is vital to have community input in order to determine the opportunities.
The development of consistent REDS across State regions is the initiative of the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet, through the Centre for Economic and Regional Development (CERD).
CERD is working closely with local councils to roll out the preparation of REDS, which apply standardised regional economic development methodology to identify existing economic strengths, new opportunities to enhance the region's development, performance and competitiveness and to set the region on a path to sustainable economic development.
“We are very pleased to be working closely with the NSW Government to develop the REDS for the MidCoast region and to be one of the first regions in NSW to do so,” Ms Tuckerman said.
"The REDS will help us provide the evidence we need to attract State resources to underpin regionally significant economic projects and create employment in our region."
The next step for the project will be a series of major workshops to develop the strategy, getting underway in the next month.
These will be held at a centralised location and involve representatives of industry and community from across the MidCoast region.
For further information, visit www.midcoast.nsw.gov.au/REDS