Community Strategic Plan

The Community Strategic Plan (CSP) is a long-term vision and roadmap created to address the priorities, aspirations, and needs of our community. Covering a 10-year period, it outlines what residents want Lismore to look like in the future and sets measurable goals to achieve this vision. The CSP is updated every four years to ensure it remains relevant to the changing needs of the community and is a statutory requirement of the Office of Local Government.

• Community Strategic Plan(PDF, 20MB)

The feedback community has provided through a myriad of community engagement activities across Lismore in the last two years is being incorporated into the Community Strategic Plan. This includes the Look Ahead work being undertaken by the Living Lab Northern Rivers (a program of Southern Cross University, University of Technology Sydney and the NSW Reconstruction Authority).

Civic leaders, including Council staff, Councillors, and community representatives, collaborate closely to develop and implement the CSP. Together, they ensure that the plan is responsive to local needs, aligns with state policies, integrates with other key industry strategies and meets statutory requirements. This teamwork helps maintain transparency, accountability, and a shared commitment to achieving Lismore’s long-term vision.

The CSP is the foundation for several supporting plans, such as the Delivery Program and Operational Plan, which outline specific actions and projects to achieve the strategic goals. It also aligns with the Resourcing Strategy—covering finance, workforce, and asset management—to ensure resources are available to deliver on the community’s vision. Together, these documents create a comprehensive approach to managing Lismore’s growth and services.

The CSP is essential because it sets the direction for everything the Council does, ensuring services, projects, and initiatives are aligned with the community’s values and priorities. It provides a shared vision that supports community well-being, environmental care, economic growth, and resilience — helping Lismore move forward in a balanced and sustainable way.

The CSP acts as a guiding document that informs all aspects of Council’s operations, from urban development and infrastructure projects to community programs and environmental initiatives. It helps the Council make decisions that benefit both current and future generations, considering factors like growth, sustainability, and the local economy.

Community input is vital to the CSP process. Residents, businesses, and community groups share their perspectives, values, and priorities through consultations, surveys, and workshops. This input directly shapes the goals and strategies within the CSP, ensuring it truly reflects what matters most to those who live, work, and play in Lismore.

The Councillors and Mayor represent the community and are key decision-makers in the CSP process. They review community feedback, set priorities, and endorse the final CSP. Their role is to balance diverse community needs and advocate for sustainable, forward-thinking policies that benefit all residents.

This survey will be open for community feedback from 4 November to 25 November, 2024 and marks the first phase of consultation to gather community feedback to ensure the voice of our residents is included in how we shape the future of Lismore and villages. Council has also conducted numerous consultations via their Your Say website and through direct liaison with various interest groups since the 2022 event. Once complete the Community Scorecard data will be added to all the valuable feedback our community have already shared and this combined information will form the basis for setting the draft areas of focus for the Community Strategic Plan 2025-2035.

In March we will then go back to our community to check that what we think they have told us is correct. This second phase engagement will involve a number of community workshops in Lismore and villages. It is important to Council that we listen to hear from our community, so that our new CSP provides a clear snapshot of their priorities, expectations, and aspirations.

A Community Strategic Plan (CSP) is a requirement under the Local Government Act (1993) and ‘identifies the main priorities and aspirations for the future of the local government area covering a period of at least 10 years from when the plan is endorsed’. The CSP must address the quadruple bottom line: social, environmental, economic and civic leadership issues. It sets the broad priorities of the Council, based upon community aspirations, and informs a suite of other plans required in the IP&R Framework.

A Master Plan is a land use planning document that applies to a specific geographically defined area. It sets the framework for future land use planning controls and infrastructure requirements. It can also set a vision for the master plan area, with a range of planning principles and actions to achieve that vision.