By Dominique Tassell
The Warwick town planning meeting was held earlier this week, after being delayed due to a Covid-19 case in the community earlier this month.
The meeting was initially going to be held in Warwick Town Hall, but due to other bookings, it was held in the Rose City Shopping Centre outside Woolworths, which proved to be a good strategy for engaging locals.
Local concerns included that we need to make young people stay in the region, and give them things to do.
Along the same line of thought, it was raised that the housing crisis is impacting the ability of people to move to the region.
Locals also highlighted that we currently have homeless people in the region who need support and housing.
Another local said that often, low-quality housing is expensive in the main towns and blocks should be made smaller so houses are cheaper.
Jobs in the region were another topic of discussion, with some locals pointing out we need jobs for older people too, stating we need more diverse industries in the region.
Jobs for people of all qualifications were also frequently mentioned, and concerns about there being enough of them.
Locals also highlighted that they’d like to see more trees on Council land, and bike trails so people can get out and enjoy the nature in the region.
Locals raised concerns about Council’s acting on climate change, saying they would like to see more done in the Southern Downs.
“Southern Downs region can always do more,” one local said.
Another local suggested that Connolly Dam be improved, with higher walls and a second wall to capture more water.
Other comments centred on the character of the town, with many pointing out that signage was an issue.
Some locals raised concerns about too much advertising on the way into town.
“We have a unique soul to our town, if we lose that we lose our character,” one local said.
Concerns were raised about small businesses finding it difficult to establish themselves in town, and lacking support from Council.
Some locals stated that businesses, and the people behind them, were moving to places like Toowoomba where they had a better chance to grow.
All in-person meetings have been held, however, locals can still provide feedback directly to Council if they wish to do so.
