Five weeks of conversations about the future shape of Buller coming to an end
After five weeks of chats, polls, surveys and conversations, Buller District Council’s engagement with the community about the shape of council’s next 10-year plan is nearing the finish line.
With feedback closing on Sunday, there is still time to share your thoughts. on what you want your district to look like in the coming 10-years- for you, your mates, kids or whānau.
Mayor Jamie Cleine says: “Getting towards the end, there was no slowing down in the effort from Councillors, staff and the community to be part of the conversation. It was great to see a steady stream of responses coming in over the past weeks and we had some awesome get-togethers with community groups and stakeholders.”
All the work has paid off with a fantastic count of 366 responses to the feedback survey either via the online or a paper feedback form and 233 responses to the quick polls.
Mayor Jamie Cleine says: “We can see that we are tracking along well in terms of numbers and quality of data we are getting. Looking at the regional breakdown, we received input from all corners of the district.”
People still have until Sunday 12 November to contribute their thoughts before staff and councillors move on to the next stage. Paper copies can be dropped off at council’s Westport or Reefton offices until 4:30pm on Monday 13 November to give people a chance to fill out a form over the weekend.
After the 12 November, councillors and key staff will review the feedback and ideas that have been collated.
Mayor Cleine says: “We made a commitment to the community that we would listen to their thoughts prior to compiling the draft. We will be incorporating the feedback into our decision-making process. This then informs our thinking when making decisions on budgets, priorities, projects and community expectations that make up a strong Long Term Plan.”
“A challenging part will be to align what we hear with what is going on around us and what is affordable. We can’t do everything that the community wants us to do, but we can listen and explain why the final decision is like it is.”
A report will be prepared that includes an analysis of recent regional surveys, the analysis of the feedback survey and the insights from the quick polls. This report will be published at the end of November.
Mayor Jamie Cleine says: “We do take our new approach seriously. At a workshop on 22 November, we will use a high-level overview of the big-ticket outcomes from the engagement report to guide discussion on the budgets. In this way the feedback forms the basis to dive into a budget discussion taking into account what the community told us.”
If you want to share your thoughts, you can still do this until Sunday 12 November by filling out an online or paper feedback form. If you don’t have time to complete the survey, you can fill out a quick poll and answer some easy questions about key topics like infrastructure, climate change, roading, community facilities, community services, and community grants and funding.
You can find the feedback form here and the quick polls here.
You can stay up to date and see Buller’s next 10-year plan taking shape by signing up to our e-newsletter Buller’s next 10–year plan | Buller District Council (bullerdc.govt.nz)
Further information
Considering the feedback and external factors council will write the draft 10-year plan (or Long-Term Plan) and the Consultation Document (the more digestible short form) aimed to be finalised by the end of the year.
In early 2024, council will bring both documents back to the community and ask if what’s been put together has the community’s aspirations at its heart. Council will also ask some questions about key issues and present some options showing how they could be dealt with.
During the consultation period submissions from the community are then taken to help finalise the plan to arrive at a final LTP, which will be adopted by Council in June 2024.
-ENDS-
For further information please contact:
Buller Mayor
Jamie Cleine
Jamie.Cleine@bdc.govt.nz