Record feedback on Council proposals
27 April 2018
More than 800 people have officially had their say on how Waipa District Council should invest in its community over the next decade.
And less formal feedback from hundreds more will be provided to elected Councillors before they make their final decisions in June this year.
Waipa District Council began calling for submissions on its draft 10-Year Plan in mid-March. The official submission period closed last Friday with 820 written submissions received. That's a 72 per cent increase from 2015 when 476 people or organisations had their say.
Communication and engagement manager Natalie Palmer said of the six major proposals outlined in the plan, the one to provide a $500,000 grant towards the development of a sport and recreation centre at Ōhaupō had attracted the most feedback, attracting close to 500 submissions. Just under half supported the proposal, 30 per cent were against and 21 per cent were unsure. Of those who submitted on the Ōhaupō proposal, about one third owned property in the affected area.
With the exception of the Ōhaupō proposal, all of the Council's proposals outlined in the draft 10-Year Plan were supported by the majority of submitters. The development of the Te Awamutu town centre attracted 62 per cent in support and an increased investment in heritage sites was supported by 70 per cent of formal submitters.
The proposal to build a Waipā Discovery Centre in Te Awamutu was supported by 53 per cent of submitters. Sixty-four per cent of submitters supported making improvements to the Cambridge Town Hall. More than 66 per cent agreed with Council's proposal for developers to bear the cost of interest and inflation.
Palmer said feedback received via informal channels like Facebook would be collated and also presented to Councillors for their consideration. That included feedback on a wide range of issues, not just that outlined in consultation material.
"What they do with that feedback will be a matter for elected members. Our job has been to try and generate as much informed debate as possible so that people could have a say on issues that mattered to them."
Final decisions on what will be included in the Council's plan for the next decade will not be made until the end of June this year.