The development of a new online booking system for council facilities has earned the Clarence Valley Council a NSW Local Government Excellence Award.

‘Bookable’, an online system that allows members of the public to book parks, sporting fields, public halls and community centres, replaces a clunky manual system where bookings could take weeks to finalise.

General manager, Ashley Lindsay, said the new system was easier for members of the public and saved staff time and, therefore, ratepayers money.

“The old system required the attention of multiple staff and it could take weeks to finalise a single booking,” he said.

“The new platform provides an automated end-to-end service that allows customers to process their own bookings in minutes.

“It will also help us manage our assets more strategically.”

Mr Lindsay said the working group that developed Bookable included representatives from all council departments involved in the booking process, external software developers and community users. This award is great recognition for our organisation and staff.

Clarence Valley Council also took equal second place in the 2018 Rural Management Challenge at the local government awards in Sydney this month.