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Last modified: 29 Jul 2020 10:45am

The Annual Plan Consultation Document was adopted for consultation by the Council last month, and consultation was due to open on 3 April. This has now been deferred until after the Council meeting of 8 April, to allow the Council to further consider the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on its plans for the coming year.

Consultation on the Council’s Annual Plan for 2020/21 will go ahead during April – but the Council has acknowledged the Plan is likely to change due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Annual Plan Consultation Document was adopted for consultation by the Council last month, and consultation was due to open on 3 April. This has now been deferred until after the Council meeting of 8 April, to allow the Council to further consider the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on its plans for the coming year.

The Plan was prepared well before the COVID-19 Alert Level 4 Restrictions were announced. The ongoing pandemic and its impacts on the economy are likely to bring significant changes to the final plan, says Mayor Sam Broughton.
“Many of the projects and services proposed may now prove to be unnecessary and some projects may not progress,” he says. “At the same time, other projects that were not a priority may now become a focus over the next 12 months.”
“We invite new ideas and new thinking. The consultation process gives you the opportunity to prepare a submission in which you can tell us what you like in our Annual Plan, and the things you suggest that we might do differently – especially in these challenging times.”

Key proposals identified for consultation in the draft Annual Plan include:

  • Deferring the Prebbleton Community centre project to allow for
    more detailed consideration in the Long-Term Plan 2021-2031.
  • Reviewing wider community needs for community facilities
    in Leeston
  • Establishing Council investment and developer partnerships for
    the Rolleston town centre retail development
  • Increasing water supply charges to provide for quality
    improvements and demand management
  • Planning and building a new wastewater system for central Darfield and new development

Public consultation has also been forced to change given the Level 4 Alert, with information and consultation predominantly being
undertaken online. Consultation opens on 3 April and closes on 4 May. The Council must adopt the Plan before the end of June.