Hornsby Shire: Community strategic plan sets 10-year vision

A more sustainable and liveable Hornsby are two of the central priorities driving a decade-long strategic plan. See what else features in Hornsby’s 10-year road map.

Hornsby Council has set out its 10-year road map with councillors unanimously voting to endorse the strategic plan, dubbed Your Vision, Your Future 2032.

The community strategic plan outlines four key themes — liveable, sustainable, productive and collaborative — and the challenges facing Hornsby Shire.

A message of environmental sustainability is one of the central threads running through this strategic plan, with some of the goals listed including a shift towards net-zero emissions, encouraging a circular economy, protecting Hornsby’s rural lands and ensuring healthy waterways.

Coupled with these goals are some of key environmental challenges facing Hornsby, such as climate change, resilience planning for future natural disasters and ensuring urban development does not damage the natural environment.

Under each of the four key themes sits different goals and how council will measure their progress towards this aims.

Environmental concerns are key in Hornsby, where almost 70 per cent of the shire is bushland.

For example, two of the measurements for “liveability” are social and mental wellbeing, as well as physical wellbeing. Council aims to track progress on these fronts by tracking the number of residents reporting mental health problems and the rate of obesity in Hornsby.

In a statement, Hornsby Mayor Philip Ruddock said the 10-year plan would help council turn residents’ vision for their community into a reality.

Mayor Philip Ruddock says the plan will help turn the community’s vision into a reality. Picture: Mick Tsikasvia.

“The community has worked with us every step of the way to share their priorities for the future,” Mayor Ruddock said.

“They have been clear and consistent in expressing their aspirations for us to improve Hornsby Shire and secure a positive future for our coming generations by creating a Shire that is liveable, sustainable, productive and collaborative.”

To create this 10-year road map, council undertook 27 community engagement projects and received feedback and responses from some 15,000 residents over the past three years.

The plan was placed on public exhibition from March 10 to April 11 and received 57 further submissions from Hornsby residents.

Having now been endorsed by council, this plan will inform council’s actions, as well as the draft 2022-2026 delivery program and 2022-2023 operational plan.