19 October 2011

Auckland Plan public consultation period gets extended

It’s good news that the general public will now have until 4pm, Monday 31 October to make a submission on the draft Auckland Plan, says Auckland Councillor Cameron Brewer.

“I’m pleased I publicly revealed the low number of submissions yesterday and tabled an amendment calling for a six-day extension at this morning’s Auckland Future Vision Committee.

“The number of submissions is now up from 143 on Monday to 198, but that remains remarkably low given we have a regional population of nearly 1.5 million.

“Council officers have been proven wrong on their claim a few months ago that the Rugby World Cup would be a great time to call for submissions and engage the wider public.

“When I raised earlier concerns about the timing of the statutory consultation period, officials told me it would be a great time to garner feedback as people would be pumped up about their city, and we’d get input from domestic and international visitors here for the rugby. That has not happened.

“As we know the main thing people have been pumped up about is the Rugby World Cup, certainly not long-term planning matters.

“The deferred school holidays have also contributed to the public’s lack of engagement so far. The extension of the statutory consultation period for the general public is a good outcome,” says Cameron Brewer.

ENDS

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