Mansfield Shire Council is all ears this September releasing several plans and programs and inviting community feedback.

Over several months, council has been asking the community to shape key strategic documents that provide direction toward community outcomes over the medium to long term.

The Council Plan 2025-2029 and Financial Plan 2025-2035 are now available online for community members to have their say, along with the Community Vision 2040, which has been reviewed.

Mayor Cr Steve Rabie thanked the community for their feedback and input on the documents.

"The Council Plan and the Financial Plan are the guidelines for how council makes decisions over its term,” said Cr Rabie.

“We have asked and we have listened.

"These documents provide a strong basis for every councillor to act according to what our community has said it wants over the four year period and beyond that.

“I am truly grateful for those who took the time to contribute to the community consultations.

"We had children participating during school holiday programs and building Lego examples of what they wanted our community to be at the Library.

"People gave up their time to participate in deliberative sessions.

"We had genuine and honest feedback from community members who really made an effort to think about how we can continue to deliver bang for your buck while

delivering core council services.

Cr Rabie emphasised that council had been listening with insights informing the delivery of these key documents.

"Let us know if we’ve got it right,” he said.

Feedback is open until 26 September at engage.mansfield.vic.gov.au/council-plan-communityvision.

Urban tree planting locations open for community feedback

Council’s annual urban tree planting program is a chance for community members to influence what locations get new or replacement trees.

With planning now underway for the 2026 program, council is inviting community members to nominate priority locations in the Shire’s urban areas.

Each year council invests in planting new trees in urban areas and renewing ageing or unhealthy ones.

Mayor Cr Steve Rabie encouraged community members to take the opportunity to nominate a location where they think urban trees should be planted.

"If you’ve been thinking about how nice it would be to have more trees in a particular spot, now is the time to let council know,” he said.

"We know our community cares a lot about the character of their local area.

"It’s your shire, and we’re listening," he reiterated.

"Every year we work with our community to select the locations that are most important to them.

"We then work with community members street by street to select appropriate species of tree to plant."

Council has proposed several streets for planting in 2026:

• Ailsa Street (east side of Chenery Street)

• Hunter Street (east side of Chenery Street)

• Utlimo Street

• Murphy Street

• Curia Street (between Ultimo and Elvins, and between Highett and Apollo north side)

• Highton Lane

• Finlayson Street

• Reynolds Street

• Victoria Street

• Elvins Street

• Arnot Street

• Jones Street

Community members can suggest other locations for new or replacement trees via council’s engagement portal, featuring a pin-drop tool to indicate precise spots.

To suggest a location for planting, visit engage.mansfield.vic.gov.au.

Feedback closes on 28 September.

Have your say on the future of parking in Mansfield

Council is calling for community feedback as part of a new study into parking in Mansfield township.

The study aims to assess existing parking conditions and identify how parking could be improved.

Council is surveying specific areas from 5–6 September, focusing on commercial zones near High Street and Highett Street and several residential streets near Mansfield Primary School.

In addition to these surveys, community members are being asked to suggest locations anywhere in Mansfield where they feel there are issues or opportunities to improve.

Mayor Cr Steve Rabie said that gaining a better picture of Mansfield’s parking needs would allow council to develop tailored solutions.

"We know that many of our community members are concerned about parking pressure in Mansfield,” he said.

"By undertaking the parking study, we’re taking a look under the hood of this issue to see exactly what the needs are at each location.

"We’ll be looking at what kind of demand we need to accommodate now, and also our community’s long-term needs and what opportunities we have to meet them.

"We’ve engaged experts to survey some high-priority areas, but we know local knowledge from across the township is just as important.

"Your feedback will help us understand what other areas we should look at and the needs in those locations.

"I strongly encourage everyone to get involved and have their say," said Cr Rabie.

To provide your feedback, visit engage.mansfield.vic.gov.au or email council@mansfield.vic.gov.au

Feedback for this study closes on 21 September.