Councillors endorsed our Community Vision 2045 at the July Council Meeting.

The Vision was shaped by feedback from over 2,000 community members through surveys, workshops, pop-up events, and targeted engagement activities held between November 2024 and May 2025.

The Community Vision 2045 will inform Council’s planning documents, including the Council Plan 2025–2029, the Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan, and the 10-Year Financial Plan.

The Community Vision 2045 document is brought to life through artwork by King Valley artist Anita Laurence, a participant in the Council Plan workshops. Her linocut print, Under a Blue Sky (2017), is part of the Wangaratta Art Gallery Collection and features prominently in the Vision’s promotional materials.

To see the full vision document download it here.

Between November 2024 and March 2025, we engaged with more than 2,000 people from across our region, including community groups, local businesses, organisations, Council staff and service providers.

Engagement activities included deliberative community workshops, surveys, pop-up events, staff engagement, and workshops with key advisory groups. During the engagement period, we collected more than 3,200 items of feedback.

The full engagement report is available for download here or find it in the Community Engagement Report sidebar.

We've also taken what we heard and developed a proposed 2045 Community Vision.

Feedback we received on the current 2033 Community Vision included:

• Maintain the key values of urban-rural balance, natural beauty, inclusive and community identity
• Refine the language and make it more accessible
• When considering the community's future aspirations, a range of priorities and opportunities were expressed, the most common being associated with supporting health and wellbeing, maintaining the ‘Wangaratta lifestyle’, and carefully (and sustainably) balancing growth with infrastructure.

Have a look at the proposed 2045 Community Vision and take a 1-minute survey here

Three Council Plan Community Workshops in four days. 120 people, over 500 ideas, and countless meaningful conversations to help make the Rural City of Wangaratta a great place to live, work, do business and visit for the next 20+ years.

Thank you to everyone who has engaged with the Council Plan development. So far we've achieved:
📈 2000+ engagements to date
📃 573 survey responses
🖼️ 116 children & school worksheets
🔵 500+ activities completed at community events
🖥️ 1900+ visits to Connect Wangaratta
🤝 600+ targeted engagements (workshops, forums and meetings)

🎯 One Council Plan milestone down, and many more to go!

What's next?

We will review and consolidate all of what we've heard from the community, and work with Councillors and Council officers to begin setting out the key initiatives for the next four years. Once the draft document is developed it will go back to the community for feedback, so hit subscribe to keep up to date with news.

We've finished up the first phase our Council Plan community engagement with more than 500 responses to surveys, 100 kids worksheets, and community conversations at ten different events across the Rural City of Wangaratta.

The next stage has already started - we're looking at what we've heard, and what the community's priorities are for Council over the next four years.

There's still more ways you can get involved!

• Download a conversation guide here a conversation guide here The guide highlights some of the emerging community themes and can be completed on your own, with a community group or club, or with friends. Email a completed copy by 14 March to connect@wangaratta.vic.gov.au or drop it to the Council Customer Service desk at the Government Centre 62-68 Ovens St Wangaratta.
• Register for a Community Workshop! There are three times to choose from on 15, 17 & 18 March, and all participants will receive a $100 voucher as a thank you for their time and involvement. You can register here: Council Plan Community Workshops

Your input will contribute to the documents that will guide Council's priorities for the next 4 years, including our Community Vision, Council Plan, Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan, and 10 Year Financial Plan.