Westmead South Community Voice Panel

The Westmead South Community Voice Panel is a coordinated representative sample of community members who agree to be consulted about the issues, topics and preparation of a Master Plan for Westmead South.

The purpose of a Community Voice Panel is to provide representative community engagement from the Westmead South area, that will:

• Provide feedback to Council that may inform development of a Master Plan;
• Provide feedback to Council to clarify the community’s and stakeholders’ key priorities, aspirations and values for Westmead South in the future, and;
• Review the Draft Westmead South Master Plan prepared by Council and supporting studies (where relevant), as part of the second phase of early community consultation.

This approach has been shown to assist Councils in hearing many diverse views of the community in this area.

All applicants will need to be available to attend at least two workshops (either in person at Council’s Merrylands Office or online dependent on COVID-19 restrictions).

The workshops will take place in the evening (6pm or later), with with workshop times to be confirmed following selection of the Panel.

The timing and total number of workshops required between February 2023 to February 2024 is yet to be confirmed. Additional workshops may be organised as planning work progresses in this period for Westmead South.

Surveys and email correspondence from Council seeking your views on different issues may also occur during the life of the project.

Panel members will be selected based on the following criteria:

• Familiarity with Westmead South and Cumberland as a resident, business owner, worker or visitor
• Representation of a range of perspectives from within the local community
• Proximity of home or workplace to Westmead South
• Ability to express views respectfully (language and interpreter support will be available)
• Demographic mix that reflects the community

Panel members will also need to agree to Council’s Code of Conduct to be able to participate in the Panel.

Yes. If you are applying to be part of the panel as a representative of a community group or organisation, please state this in your application form. Only one representative from each community group will be accepted.

Input from the panel will inform the development of the Draft Master Plan. Ideas and feedback will also assist in understanding areas that may need further investigation and matters of general support. Feedback from the Panel will be sought at various stages of planning work for Westmead South, with planning information refined in response to the Panel’s feedback.

How the workshops will be hosted will depend on the restrictions in place and successful applicants will be advised ahead of the workshop. Council will follow the advice from the NSW Government and Public Health Orders (where applicable) in order to keep the community safe.