A Strategic Plan is the highest level of plan a Council prepares. Its purpose is to outline the community’s long-term vision and aspirations for the future and is used to plan strategies for achieving these goals.

The Strategic Plan will map our journey of:

• Where are we now?
• Where do we want to be in 10 years time?
• How will we get there?
• How will we know we’ve arrived?

It is a legislated requirement for Councils to review their Strategic Plan every four years.

Derwent Valley Council's current Strategic Plan (Our Valley 2030) was endorsed by Council in October 2018. A lot has happened since then.

• We have a new set of Councilors around the table
• The Valley's population has grown by around 8 percent.
• Climate change and frequent extreme weather events continue to impact our community.
• The global pandemic, and subsequent economic and social impacts from that have also challenged many assumptions.

Council is updating the Strategic Plan to reflect our changing circumstances, and to incorporate the current aspirations and priorities of our community, Councillors, community partners, and staff.

Our review of the Strategic Plan meets Council's obligations in accordance with the Local Government Act 1993 which requires all Tasmanian Councils to develop a Strategic Plan in respect of at least a 10 year period, to review this every four years, and to consult with the community in its municipal area and any authorities and bodies it considers appropriate when developing the Strategic Plan.

We want as many people as possible throughout the Derwent Valley to get involved.
We are planning multiple opportunities over the coming months for you to participate in what we are calling "DV+10" - our project to engage with the Derwent Valley community on their vision for a shared future.

This will be an opportunity to think about the Derwent Valley over the next 10 years. We want to know what you love about the Derwent Valley, What we need to hold on to, What is holding us back, and your ideas and actions that we can take to help the Derwent Valley thrive into the future.

We started in October 2022 with the launch of a community survey. This will ask a series of questions to understand what the community wants for the future.

During February and March we hosted face-to-face local area listening posts in several locations throughout the Valley to hear about local priorities and aspirations.

We are now asking for your feeback on the draft plan. Consultation closes on 7 August 2023.

Your feedback will be used to help inform the new iteration of the Strategic Plan currently in development. It is expected that this new plan will be presented to Council for adoption by mid-2023. Your feedback may also used to inform future strategies and plans Council will produce during the life of the plan.

This project is being led by Council staff. We're delivering this project in-house to keep cost down and capture the 'local voice' with integrity. An extensive internal engagement process is underway with all staff to ensure we take advantage of the internal subject matter expertise and experience of our employees.

Insights from the community and our partner stakeholders are the other critical components of this project. That is where we encourage everyone to get involved in the various opportunities to have your say that will be made available over the coming months. This is your chance to have your voice heard and guide the future of our remarkable region.