Sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for; hearing that in a particular location in Sydney the powers to be were considering calling it a “recreational hub’’ a councillor from another area piped up: yep, that would be right, in that place a lot of them are into drugs.
The story could be apocryphal, but it doesn’t matter, because it serves as a gentle warning to anyone thinking of creating a brand for their part of the world.
And when I say anyone I mean Campbelltown, which has announced that it intends to do just that, that is create a brand around all the feel good things associated with our wonderful neck of the woods.
Some of the comments from readers on Facebook were interesting, ranging from the positive “Campbelltown – a wonderful past and an exciting future’’, to the negative, “it [the branding] will need to have shopping trolleys, mattresses and junked up footpaths somewhere in the picture unfortunately these days!’’
For me what was encouraging was that so many people showed an interest in the idea, which I think is more important than the fact some people exercised their freedom of speech to point to less attractive aspects.
It would have been sad if there was lack of interest, but the truth is most Campbelltown residents care tremendously for their home and only want the best for it.
As for the branding idea, well, so long as the risks are negotiated and there’s no overreach, there’s no reason why Brand Campbelltown would not resonate.
We have plenty of things to be proud of and as far as I am concerned our best years are ahead of us.
Some won’t like that assertion, especially those who think Campbelltown went downhill when the population boomed in the 1960s, 70s and 80s.
Of course they’re entitled to their views, as are those who only think of negativity, but for me the future’s looking good, especially if we get the balance right between development and our current amenity.
Every slice of open space lost to developers, is one that’s not coming back.