Have your say on the Long-Term Plan 2021-2031

Published on 11 November 2020

Feedback is wanted on what should be included in Whanganui District Council’s Long-Term Plan 2021-2031, as part of the first phase of consultation to be completed by mid-November 2020.

Public engagement is well underway with community conversations held at a number of venues to seek the public’s ideas and aspirations for Whanganui over the next 10 years.

This feedback will help the council to draft its Long-Term Plan 2021-2031, which is a road map for the next decade.

Council Group Manager - Corporate, Stephanie Macdonald-Rose, says the purpose of the pre-consultation is to gather information and find out what’s on the community’s mind to inform Council decisions.

“Staff and elected members have been out and about in a number of suburbs over the last month or so listening to what our community has to say and building a picture of what is important to our district”

“These early conversations are integral to shaping up a Long-Term Plan that responds to where our community wants to be in the next 10 years,” says Stephanie Macdonald-Rose.

“Although not every idea can be actioned, the benefit of going out and talking to people is that we start to see emerging issues and key recurring themes. These can be then be taken into consideration by Council.”

Council will now hold workshops over the coming months where the feedback will be discussed at the same time as budget requirements.

The Let’s Connect - Community Conversations event series continues this month with the next scheduled events at Castlecliff Library between 10am – 2pm on Saturday, 14 November and Majestic Square on Wednesday, 18 November from 11.30am – 2pm.

The public also has the opportunity to have its say through online surveys, with feedback sought on the five strands of the council’s Leading Edge strategy – Community, Connectivity, Creativity, Environment and Economy. The surveys are open until 20 November 2020.

The public can also join a community panel – Our District, Your Say – by emailing your name, postal address and email address to ourdistrictyoursay@whanganui.govt.nz

Further opportunities to have your say on the Long-Term Plan 2021-2031 will be available through a formal consultation process in 2021.

More information is available on the Long-Term Plan web page