11 May 2017

Final Love the Bay workshop held

The community-led Love the Bay engagement process on the future of Island Bay has completed the last of the scheduled workshop series.

The ideas for the future design of The Parade presented at the workshops are now online, and will be considered for community consultation later in the year, says Wellington City Council’s Public Transport, Cycling and Walking portfolio leader, Councillor Sarah Free.

“Love the Bay has been a community-led engagement process bringing local residents together to discuss the future of Island Bay. A major feature of this has been discussions of future options for The Parade. This has been a well-supported and productive process which has brought the community together and let everyone have their say.

“This past weekend’s workshops were attended by hundreds of people who saw a wide range of initial design options and gave their feedback.

“Feedback on these options will now be worked up into a series of practical proposals to be brought to Councillors. A decision will then be made on which ones will be sent back to the community for final consultation.

“There is still a wide range of views in the community so the final proposals will take some careful consideration, but we are on track to have this sorted by the end of the year."

Deputy Mayor and Southern Ward Councillor Paul Eagle says he’s confident the Love the Bay process will lead to a great outcome for the area.

“People in Island Bay are so proud of their neighbourhood and everyone wants the best for it. My commitment is that our Council will be led by what the community wants to see on The Parade, and that’s why we will be going back with specific options for local people to have their say on.

“These will include keeping the status quo, returning to the original layout, or improvements we could make to The Parade and cycleway. We will put money aside for this through our Annual Plan and we are committed to getting it right.

“We’ll put the options and information in front of the local community and I’m confident we’ll get the best outcome possible.”

Southern Ward Councillor David Lee says the Love the Bay process has been a real success.

“I want to pay tribute to the whole community for coming together and working constructively on this process. I especially want to acknowledge the syndicate members who led the process and staff who organised all the workshops. This has been a great model of grassroots consultation and something all of Island Bay can be very proud of.”

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