Strathbogie Tableland emergency plans now complete

 After ten months of planning in 2024, the Strathbogie Tableland Steering Group have completed their Local Emergency Action Plan (LEAP) for the Strathbogie Tableland. 

Input from the well-attended Strathbogie Tableland community meeting in April 2024 was collated and incorporated into the LEAP after being reviewed by the Steering Group. 

The finalised plan has now been printed and is available to the public at the local shop, as well as made available on the Strathbogie Shire website: www.strathbogie.vic.gov.au. 

Mayor Cr Claire Ewart-Kennedy commended the working group for their dedication in developing the Strathbogie Tableland plan. 

‘These plans are an invaluable resource for the Tableland community, incorporating the local knowledge that is essential to their success,’ said Cr Ewart-Kennedy. 

‘This is the fourth town in our shire to join, Avenel, Euroa and Violet Town and create such a resource, and the actions identified will help raise awareness of the emergency risks facing the Tableland’s community. By being better prepared, we know they will be able to recover more quickly from any unforeseen emergency event,’ she said. 

Kath Handasyde, a member of the Strathbogie Tableland LEAP Steering Group, said that the LEAP is a valuable document and complements several emergency planning tools already developed by the local community. 

‘The LEAP will be available on the Council’s website as well as on the local community website at www.strathbogie.org.

‘This LEAP process documented the importance of the role of our local Strathbogie Memorial Hall as a community recovery hub and the need for backup power. Fortunately, the community have been able to secure grant funding to deliver on this priority action. 

‘We believe we’ve captured, in our emergency plan, what is most important to our community to help us effectively respond to and recover from an emergency event impacting our beautiful Tableland area,’ added Kath Handasyde. 

Copies of the LEAPs for the communities of Avenel, Euroa, Nagambie, Strathbogie Tableland and Violet Town are available on Council’s website and a limited number of the latest printed LEAPs will be available at the Strathbogie General Store. 

The LEAPing into Resilience project was funded by the Federal Government and was a result of a collaboration with the Mansfield, Strathbogie and Murrindindi Shire Councils in the successful grant application. The three-year project will see LEAPs prepared for five communities in each shire or 15 in total.