There’s still time for the community to have its say on Westport’s Master Planning

Locals have just over a week to have their say on the Draft Master Plan for Westport. Engagement got underway earlier this month and closes at 5pm on Monday 10 March.

The Draft Master Plan has been more than a year in the making. Last year, the Resilient Westport team spent eight months talking to local stakeholders to help shape the Draft Plan to where it is now. Now it’s time for the wider community to let us know what they think.

The Draft Master Plan essentially examines where Westport is now, considers its history and the values of the local community and looks at how things could be done in the future, given the challenges and opportunities it faces.

The team has been speaking with local groups, schools and businesses to help people in the community understand what’s contained in the Draft Plan and how they can have their say.
This week alone they visited local law firms, and the Department of Conservation, engaged with local schools at Westport South School and talked to Bathurst Mining staff at the Stockton Mine. Support for the extra community drop-in sessions is picking up as people show more interest in understanding what’s in the Draft Plan and how it might affect them.

Buller District Council Chief Executive Simon Pickford says this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for people to join the discussion on Westport’s future growth and development.

“We’re pleased to see the number of survey responses picking up – around 50 – as we understand this is a fairly complex topic. We get that it can be tempting for people to look at a topic like this and feel like it is too intangible, too far in the future or even too challenging to implement.

“We do see that, but we also know that having feedback from the community is so important. This is the way we see if this is something the community understands and feels it needs – or otherwise. It also helps us understand if the community needs more from this plan than is on offer. This is a living document that we can change in response to that and other things that crop up. Ultimately, it helps us with our conversations with funders, potential developers and the Government to know we have given the people of Westport a real opportunity to have their say in this.
“Have your say – there’s still time. Our team is running extra drop-in sessions where they have lots of supporting maps and diagrams and you can pick their brains on any part of this you would like to know more about,” says Mr Pickford.

The Draft Plan is summarised in the document ‘Cutting our own track’, which is available on the Let’s talk Buller website. The online survey and other information can be found there also. Comprehensive Frequently Asked Questions can be found on the Resilient Westport website.

Paper surveys and information can be found at the Buller District Council Westport service centre or the Sue Thomson Casey Memorial Library in Westport.

The regular Tuesday community drop-in session (12-2pm) at 147 Palmerston Street remain the same while additional sessions are scheduled for Wednesdays 5pm – 7pm and Saturdays 10am – 12pm (until 8 March).

-ENDS-

For further information please contact:
Resilient Westport Communications team
media@resilientwestport.co.nz