Submission to Adelaide Hills Council's Annual Business Plan & Budget
Photo Credit: Patrick Wynne
Activating Bridgewater put a callout to the community (via Facebook) asking for local issues to raise in our submission on the Adelaide Hills Council budget - we have sought to combine your feedback with the findings from the community survey we ran last year.
Our recommendations were very locally focused, as follows:
Recommendation 1: ...Activating Bridgewater now kindly requests a formal written response to our letter from 28 March 2026 (relating to State Government Election Commitments). We would intend to share this correspondence with the Bridgewater and Mount George community.
Recommendation 2: In the interest of sustainable rates relief, that the Council undertake a forward budget planning process that demonstrates how the Council budget will be brought back into balance – i.e. ‘a budget-balancing plan’ – and make that plan publicly available to the community.
Recommendation 3: That the Council make a modest investment in initial community consultation and general scoping for a Town Centre Masterplan in FY2026-27. Subject to success in this first stage, Activating Bridgewater would seek a more substantial investment in the development of the actual Masterplan in FY2027-28.
Recommendation 4: That the Council invest in 0.2 FTE to 0.4 FTE of dedicated environmental grant-writing capacity – for at least a 2-year pilot – to accompany the Council’s soon-to-be renewed Biodiversity Strategy.
Recommendation 5: That the Council prioritise the following local infrastructure in Bridgewater / Mount George in FY26-27:
Recognising that it may be a multi-year project, safe paths and/or footpaths for Wembley Avenue from Aldgate Primary School to Mount Barker Road – this is a particular thoroughfare for Aldgate Primary School students who live in the western side of Bridgewater – student safety is a key concern.
More defined paths / footpaths on Shannon Road near Bridgewater Primary School – student safety is a key concern. This would complement the recent Council upgrades of defined parking on – and planned resealing of – Morella Grove.
A footpath to connect across the northern side of the Bridgewater Oval on oval grounds (i.e. behind the fence and not directly adjacent to the road), including a safety barrier or other obstacle between the parked cars in the oval carpark and pedestrians.
The repair / refresh of the Bridgewater Netball Club toilets – the toilets – including the infrastructure within which they are housed, as well as the toilet themselves – are generally dilapidated and in need of repair, upgrade, or at least a significant refresh.
Recommendation 6: That the Council carry out the following minor works:
Fix (or unclog) the stormwater drain on Mount Barker Road, just to the east of that Road’s intersection with Honeysuckle Grove
Fix (or unclog) the stormwater drain on Onkaparinga Road between Third and Fourth Avenue
Remove / flatten a major footpath fold at the corner of Wembley Avenue and Mount Barker Road
To make the path reasonably accessible for prams and bicycles, investigate reducing the steep gradient of this section of the main path between Bridgewater and Aldgate on the corner of Charlton Street and Mount Barker Road
You can view our full submission here.
