Macedon Ranges council is calling for Romsey residents to provide their opinion on the Romsey Hotel’s gaming machine application to help inform council’s submission to the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC).
Romsey residents and those living within five kilometres of the Romsey Hotel are invited to complete a survey relating to an application for 50 gaming machines at 90 Main Street in Romsey.
Council said it has commissioned an independent consultant to deliver a Social and Economic Impact Assessment (SEIA).
To inform this SEIA, council is undertaking a community survey using a publicly available database from the Victorian Electoral Commission to target letterbox drops to all Romsey residents and those within five kilometres of the venue.
Director community Maria Weiss said there may be people who have moved to the area or just turned 18 who are not captured in this database.
“We know this is an important matter for many Romsey residents and we want to ensure that we are giving as many eligible people… as possible the opportunity to participate in our survey,” she said.
“It is important to council that our SEIA is as well-informed as it can be, to ensure that our submission to the VGCCC best represents the sentiments of our community.”
Eligible residents who haven’t received a letter directly must “opt in” to complete the survey, showing proof of residency to ensure validity of the data collected. The letters were expected last week.
Residents can opt in by contacting council on 5422 0333, or by visiting a council office.
Individual survey results will be completely private and de-identified and a summary of results will be included in a future report, expected to be listed for decision at an April 2024 meeting.
Residents outside of the five-kilometre survey area can share their opinion on the application through a submission directly to the VGCCC.
