Ararat Rural City residents can help shape the future of sport and recreation planning in the region across the next decade by having their say on a draft council plan released this month.

A draft Ararat Sport and Active Recreation Strategy 2026-36 outlines a framework to increase local participation in physical activity and guide the council’s investment in sport and active-recreation infrastructure for the next 10 years.

The council developed the draft plan following more than five months of public consultation last year, with 335 community members undertaking surveys and 50 stakeholder groups providing submissions.

Council deputy chief executive Phuong Au said a previous Ararat Rural City Recreation and Open Space Strategy had become outdated after being adopted in 2003 and no longer reflected the needs of the community.

While Ms Au’s report to the council noted there had been site-specific master plans, facility studies and activity-specific strategies since 2003, the municipality was in need of a new, cohesive strategy document.

“Development of this 10-year strategy commenced in June last year and has been informed by a review of council’s existing strategies, analysis of local participation and demographic trends, and extensive engagement with the community and stakeholders,” she said.

“The draft strategy provides a contemporary, whole-of-municipality framework to guide planning, prioritisation and investment in sport and active recreation.

“It is directly shaped by community feedback and local trends, and is underpinned by the vision of Ararat Rural City – an active, inclusive and connected community.”

Ms Au said the strategy was structured around four key pillars: places, people, partners and processes.

“Community consultation also delivered a very clear message that the highest priority is the delivery of a new multi-use indoor sports facility that is capable of supporting sports such as basketball, indoor netball, volleyball, futsal and gymnastics,” she said.

Deputy mayor Teli Kaur said it was ‘extremely encouraging’ to see the level of community engagement in the development of the draft plan.

“Clearly it shows the strong and thorough process of this plan to gather feedback from the community, and we look forward to sending the plan out to the community for the final review and to see the outcomes afterwards,” she said.

Cr Jo Armstrong noted the inclusion of playspaces and other informal recreation areas in the plan.

“I think it’s important just to recognise that not all sport and recreation is formalised and structured – there is ad hoc, occasional, very much community-centred recreational activity that occurs,” she said.

“It’s quite important that we keep our eyes on all of the facilities that we have across the municipality and bear in mind also the accessibility of those places.”

Ararat Rural City residents can view and provide feedback on the draft plan by visiting engage.ararat.vic.gov.au/ararat-sport-and-active-recreation-strategy-consultation.

People can also call the council on 5355 0200 or email council@ararat.vic.gov.au for more information about the plan.

The entire May 13, 2026 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!