Lismore's pitch to make the country sit up and take notice

LISMORE City Council has launched a pitch for “big ticket” public funding and private investment with the release of the new Lismore Prospectus yesterday.

LISMORE City Council has launched a pitch for "big ticket" public funding and private investment with the release of the new Lismore Prospectus yesterday.

The 32-page document is the public face of a move to attract millions of dollars in investment and funding and build on Lismore's position as the region's health, education, financial and business centre.

With a health sector primed to boom with the massive $270 million investment into Lismore Base Hospital and associated infrastructure, the city also expects to see continued growth in higher education, professional services, residential development, and business.

The Lismore CBD is expected to be given a boost with new "greenfield" housing developments expected to grow the city's urban population by 5300.

This will be led by the release of the long-awaited North Lismore Plateau.

The council's executive director for sustainable development, Brent McAlister, said Lismore was ready to showcase its clear competitive advantages.

Mr McAlister said the council had become a business-friendly council with a "can do" attitude.

Its key services included offering design charettes (workshop roundtables) for major developments, in-house architectural consulting on significant development applications, and financial incentives for particular developments.

The council's economic development manager, Mark Batten, said until the creation of the prospectus, information on opportunities available in Lismore had been piecemeal at best.

He said the prospectus was about encouraging investors and governments to "sit up and take notice".

"It details everything our city requires in the next two decades," Mr Batten said.

"We are economically and geographically primed for growth, and we have a beautiful region with an enviable lifestyle that offers beaches, rainforests and a fantastic work/life balance."