CONTROLS on alcohol to crack down on street violence, a new youth precinct in Glenroi and more open space in new subdivisions are just some of the goals making up the Greens’ team plan to build healthy communities for Orange.
CONTROLS on alcohol to crack down on street violence, a new skate park and youth precinct in Glenroi, more open space in new subdivisions, and an infill policy to balance the interests of residents and developers are just some of the goals making up the Greens’ team plan to build healthy communities for Orange.
Leader Cr Neil Jones said the push for a back-to-basics approach on Orange City Council in the lead-up to Saturday’s election was important but the group’s plan represented the whole community.
“The council election has focused very much on the Macquarie Pipeline and the roads and footpaths which is something we have very strong positions about,” he said.
“But I think the council has got to be about more than that.”
As part of their plan to tackle street violence the Greens would build a closer relationship with the Orange Liquor Accord and provide more facilities for young people like a second skate park and a youth centre in the Moulder Park precinct.
Cr Jones said alcohol-related violence among the older population was a broader social issue.
“Street violence is often associated with the closing hours of hotels and youth that don’t have the opportunity for employment and other outlets,” he said.
“We are completely against any extension of late night trading hours and if possible we’d bring back some of those hours.”
The group would also push for more effective environmental design in new suburbs to make streets more people friendly.
Stephen Nugent said if residents were encouraged to walk the streets and use open space areas it could discourage vandalism by increasing public surveillance.
“You create a situation where crime is less likely to occur through design,” he said.
Cr Jones said the city’s development control plan (DCP) needs to give greater weight to planning recommendations.
“At the moment a lot of it can be determined subjectively and that’s caused a lot of problems,” he said.
The group would also encourage council to develop a traffic management strategy for the city to take traffic out of the CBD in a bid to make the city more liveable.
clare.colley@ruralpress.com