A PETITION calling for the halt of all Horsham council Transforming Horsham plans has received more than 2000 signatures.
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Horsham Ratepayers and Residents group started the petition last month and closed it on Wednesday.
The petition called for the suspension of all Transforming Horsham plans "until the acceptable level of community engagement, inclusion and transparency of processes in these and future plans by the council, has been resolved".
The Transforming Horsham plans include the City to River masterplan, the Horsham Urban Transport Plan, the Open Space Strategy and the Horsham South Structure Plan.
The council received 740 public submissions to its draft City to River masterplan, which proposes changes to Horsham City Oval, the Wimmera River precinct and Horsham Showgrounds.
Horsham Ratepayers and Residents group president Di Bell said she was still counting signatures.
"As of Thursday we have 2182 signatures, and the majority were Horsham residents," she said.
"We invited all Wimmera and Southern Mallee residents to sign the petition. However, we didn't actively put it out to the region as most are very busy with harvest, so regional signatures have been captured when in Horsham."
People who signed the petition were asked to provide their full name and their postcode.
"We didn't collect their ages but we didn't collect any signatures from people under 18. We didn't approach shops to have the petition available but rather they approached us," she said.
"We also had a stand at the Kannamaroo Festival. People were going to Barbeques Galore in Horsham just to sign the petition."
Mrs Bell said the petition was a "clear statement" that residents were not satisfied with how the council had handled its consultation process.
"The community wants to see improvements and enhancements to what they value and some new ideas that will add to our unique city and liveability," she said.
"From (our) perspective, now it's time to change the processes and move forward, and that requires huge changes in council consultation and engagement processes, but also requires our community to be more actively involved continually.
"The community wants change in processes and they do want improvements, but very different to what has been presented.
"There are so many great ideas out in the community that are never captured or presented anywhere. We aim to give people a venue to present new ideas and suggestions through our community working groups."
Mrs Bell said she planned to submit the petition to the council on Thursday. She hoped the council would discuss it at its next ordinary meeting on December 16.
In October, Mrs Bell helped create a petition against the proposed closing of Horsham's McBryde Street.
The street was suggested as the location for a proposed multi-sports precinct in the council's draft City to River masterplan. The petition received about 580 signatures.
Horsham Rural City Council's governance local law says: "A petition or joint letter presented to the council will be tabled without discussion and received at the next appropriate ordinary council meeting, unless the council agrees by resolution to deal with it earlier. Petitions or joint letters will be forwarded to the appropriate director for action as required, including presentation back to council at the next appropriate meeting."
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