Shoalhaven City Council has jumped to the aid of the popular tourist and farming village of Kangaroo Valley, successfully advocating for $1 million in special flood support.
While recovery for both Kangaroo Valley and the rest of the Shoalhaven remains a multi-million-dollar concern, Shoalhaven City Council lobbied the NSW Government to ensure key
access roads were repaired and reopened.
To help drive visitation back to the Valley, a portion of the $1 million in funding went towards supporting various local events, as well as a ‘We’re open for business’ marketing campaign delivered by the Kangaroo Valley Chamber of Tourism and Commerce.
Shoalhaven City Council says it had seen similar programs rolled out in the Northern Rivers for flood-affected businesses and advocated with a view to Kangaroo Valley receiving similar support.
While many businesses weren’t directly flooded, they were cut off from supplies and customers for weeks with roads to both Nowra and the Southern Highlands
being impacted, Council said in a statement.
“Businesses would not have survived without the big boost of funding to events such as
the Beer and BBQ Festival, and Arts in the Valley. Although it is still just a drop in the
ocean, the funding helped the towns morale as we felt ‘seen’,” said Natalie Harker from Kangaroo Valley Chamber of Tourism and Commerce.
“The funding awarded to our marketing campaign not only helped get visitors back and cut through all the negative press but set us up with great marketing assets into the future. We can’t thank Council enough.”
