Planning and Plotting the King Valley Future

In August 2001, the RCoW sponsored a community workshop in Whitfield titled, "Planning and Plotting the King Valley Future". It was a remarkable event, run by small town revivalist Peter Kenyon, and was successful in getting the local community involved in its future development.

Unfortunately, there was no follow-up by the community and now it is September 2005 and we have all but forgotten what happened that night. In July 2002, the Watchdog published a piece titled Peter Kenyon Revisited criticising the lack of follow-up after a year.

The major finding of the original workshop was the recognition of the lack of community cohesion in the King Valley. What that means is that there is no co-operation between the community groups and the town leaders. This has shown itself in the past with multiple events being held on the same day and then nothing else happening for months on end.

Four years on and nothing has changed. One of the projects that people wanted to develop was a weekly 'kid friendly' Farmers Market in Whitfield selling local produce that would attract both visitors & local community. Today, there are two Farmers Markets - one at Tolmie - the other at Moyhu. They are both held on the third Saturday of the month. Where is the community cohesion in that?

Sureley these two markets would be more successful if they were held on different weekends. The community and visitors would have the opportunity to buy local produce more often and the stall holders would have more opportunities to sell their wares.

Similarly, the King Valley Tourism Association (KVTA) has been neutralised by the local wine industry starting its own promotional organisation and taking over the well established King Valley Festival events built by the KVTA over many years. Where is the community cohesion in that?

The King Valley Tourism Association is left with a few B&Bs and the local features - and little else. The well developed Wine Festival events will attract the major funding whilst the KVTA will be left floundering. With these events now in commercial hands, the many community members who have contributed their time and community spirit to these events will be less likely to do so into the future.

In the last few years we have not only seen the loss of the Whitfield Cricket Club but the selfish removal of the wicket - a community asset - by the football club. We were to have a new netball court for the start of this season past but negotiations between the various community groups involved broke down. Where is the community cohesion in that?

In a small community like Whitfield, there are too many community organisations and too few people to serve on their committees of management. In fact,most of the committee members who serve on one committee also serve on a variety of other committees and yet, they still cannot work together.

Surely it would be better to combine these many factions and create an environment where they work for a common cause. For example, one organisation that managed all sports and recreation activities would be able to attract more co-operation of the RCoW and access more funding opportunities than any one of them can do alone.

At the Peter Kenyon workshop, many people registered their interest in working on the following projects:
(taken from RCoW follow-up letter to participants)

• Whitfield Main Street: parking; signage; flowers/garden/landscape; underground powerlines; use of public art; roundabout
  
• Signage Strategy: map display in town centre; consistent standards; distinctive; signage trail; Brand �King Valley�; Creation of an Identity; Link with public art; Town entrance statement.
  
• Regular Market: weekly; local produce; attract both visitors & local community; "Farmers Market" concept.
  
• A Distict Reason to Stop in the Valley: waterfall in island; promotion/signage strategy; family market - "kid" friendly; bakery - additional food; more activity.
  
• Railway Shed Restoration: community use; information centre; rail trail.
  
• Wine Trail Promotion: mutually supportive cellar doors (cross promotion); packaging - promoting the 'whole' King Valley; promotion of quality of product/variety.
  
• Accommodation Strategy: group bookings; diversity; supply/demand issues; promotion - a brochure to capture what is available.
  
• Walking Track between Whitfield and Cheshunt; strategy to enhance number.
  
• 20 Additional Families Moving to the King Valley: quality of life; infrastructure; skills; school/sports teams; injection of 'new' ideas; hairdresser & other 'trades' encouraged into the area.
  
• Building Communuty Cohesion: communication; "bring" groups together to identify; community issues; respect for each others opinions; 'big' picture goal - 'mission'.

Until the King Valley develops community cohesion, the rest of the objectives are pointless. Until there is community cohesion, the future of the King Valley remains an ad hoc agenda.

Population peaked in the 1920's and has deteriorated ever since. With the recession of the grape industry over the next few years and the ever increasing cost of fuel, the future of the King Valley may well be in terminal decline.

Do we want to see the Valley go ahead? With the world in chaos with terrorism, record oil prices, and threats to national economies, it may be 'safer' to do nothing and forget the future.