Northern Grampians Shire residents can influence council's 2026/27 budget by reviewing and providing feedback on the proposed council plan year two priorities. This process is different from previous years where residents traditionally had an opportunity to provide submissions to a draft budget. Feedback closes at 4pm Wednesday, February 4, 2026.
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Council invites you to join us to celebrate and honour local achievements at our annual Australia Day ceremonies in St Arnaud and Stawell on Monday, January 26. There are also partner events across the shire in townships such as Navarre, Stuart Mill and Marnoo.
Published on 16 April 2021
Northern Grampians Shire Council Business Support and Development Team will host a series of visual merchandising workshops funded by Business Victoria commencing this May, The workshops will be facilitated by Jennie Kelly, founder of visual merchandising firm ‘A Creative Space’.
Ms Kelly is an experienced visual merchandiser who has worked with a wide selection of retail clients in Melbourne.
Visual merchandising is a strategic step in retail marketing and helps to build brand awareness and interest in a product prior to purchase. Visual merchandising can also be an effective tool in an online space.
Ms Kelly will demonstrate practical skills in visual merchandising to improve shop displays including how to use low-cost materials to improve a retail product’s appearance. She will also highlight how visual merchandising is a critical step in the marketing funnel cycle taking prospective customers from product awareness through to sales conversion and brand advocacy.
Workshop participants will then use Ms Kelly’s teachings to redesign their own store displays. One on one mentoring with Ms Kelly will also be available to participants during the series.
The series is open to all businesses within Northern Grampians Shire commencing with:
Workshop 1 - Tuesday 4 May from 6pm to 7.30pm, Stawell Town Hall foyer
Workshop 2 - Tuesday 1 June from 6pm to 7.30pm, St Arnaud Town Hall foyer
Workshop 3 – Tuesday 6 July from 6pm to 7.30pm, Stawell Town Hall foyer
The workshop series will be followed by onsite personalised coaching with workshop participants at their business premises.
In person attendance is strongly encouraged with the option to attend via Zoom video webinar available after registration.
The workshop series is provided at no cost to local business through Business Victoria’s Business Events funding.
Northern Grampians Shire Council Mayor, Cr Murray Emerson, encouraged all local businesses to attend.
"This is a fantastic opportunity for local businesses to update their marketing toolkit after what has been a very challenging year of retail trade in 2020,” he said.
“Sign up and take advantage of Ms Kelly’s specialised industry experience and learn how to market and present your products and services in a more enticing way to your customers.”
More information is available at www.ngshire.vic.gov.au/events Interested business owners can register via email business@ngshire.vic.gov.au or telephone 03 5358 8700.