Ashburton council taking draft long-term plan on tour
By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Twelve presentations, five community meetings, three sausage sizzles, and one long-term plan.
It sounds like a Christmas song but it’s a summary of a wide-ranging community engagement strategy the Ashburton District Council is taking.
The draft long-term plan was adopted this week and a 68-page consultation document of highlights and key decisions is planned to go live on 27 March.
Ashburton mayor Neil Brown said the council has the chance to set the direction for the next 10 years and the draft plan it has prepared is the opportunity for the community to say if they have got it right.
There is a focus on five big decisions but the whole plan is up for discussion, he said.
“We need to hear from the public.
“We welcome people’s submissions with comments on how we could do things differently.
“If someone wants to submit that they don’t like something, give us an alternative give us another suggestion and we can really have some meaningful discussion.”
To get that feedback, the council is taking a much more active approach with 25 engagement events over a month.
Councillor Russell Ellis was excited about the change in the consultation approach.
“We are doing it quite differently to any other way that I have done it before.
“This time we are going to the people. Instead of asking them to come to us.”
Councillor Phill Hooper wants the community to engage in the process rather than rely on online rants.
“I implore those people on social media who say council don’t listen to have their say officially.”
The consultation calendar opens with a community meeting in the Rakaia Community Centre on April 4 followed by a sausage sizzle at the Tinwald Pool on April 7 between 10am and 2pm.
Further community meetings will be held in Mount Somers (April 9), Ashburton (April 16) and Methven (April 17).
A meeting specifically focussed on stockwater will be held at the Hinds Community Centre on April 15.
Other sausage sizzles are planned for Baring Square East (April 13) and the Methven iHub (April 20), with five day-time pop-ups also planned – four in Ashburton and one in Methven.
Councillors will also visit 12 community groups at their monthly meetings.
The consultation closes on April 27.
The long-term plan is due to be adopted by June 26.
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
-
61.7% Summer
-
36.7% Winter
-
1.6% Other - I'll share below
Loading…
