Tuesday 26 May 2009

Over 500 have their say on Clutha’s future

Over 500 Clutha District ratepayers and residents have had their say on what’s planned for the district over the next 10 years.

Submissions to Council’s draft Long Term Plan, outlining services and projects it intends to deliver over the next decade, closed on Friday 22 May following a month-long consultation period.

Policy Analyst Larissa Brown said Council had received over 500 responses to a questionnaire on the plan sent out to residents and ratepayers. On top of that, just over 180 written submissions on specific issues were received from various organisations and individuals.

Written submissions covered a wide range of topics from key issues such as swimming pools, the proposed Clutha Recreation Centre and recycling, as well as other topics such as the Naish Park bird aviary, museum curator, and requests for grants funding.

“It is pleasing to see so many people taking the time to familiarise themselves with what is being proposed in the plan and then writing in with their views,” Mrs Brown said. “The response far outweighs previous years, with the draft annual plan historically attracting less than 100 submissions.”

She said Council would meet this Thursday (28 May) to hear from those 35 organisations and individuals who wished to speak to their submissions.

The draft Long Term Plan Hearing will be held at the Council Chambers on Thursday 28 May, with sessions beginning at 1pm and 6pm. Council will then meet again on Thursday 4 and Friday 5 June to consider all of the submissions and debate changes to draft plan, before adopting the final Long Term Plan and ‘striking the rates’ for 2009/10 on Thursday 25 June. 

Mrs Brown said data from the questionnaires was currently being collated and would be presented along with all written submissions to assist councillors in their decision-making. Results from a district-wide telephone survey, asking residents their views on the draft plan, will also be presented at the June 4 and 5 meetings.  

ENDS