MEDIA RELEASE

6 July 2017

Community ideas guiding long term planning

What do you want the Waikato to look like in 10 years’ time? What areas of work do you think the regional council should prioritise? What are your ideas for making the mighty Waikato the best it can be?

These and other key questions are being addressed in an online survey being run by Waikato Regional Council as part of its 2018-2028 long term plan development. People around the region are being asked to submit their ideas, insights and responses through the survey, from now until Tuesday 18 July.

“We want to see a Waikato where our environment, economy and communities thrive – but we can’t plan for this future in isolation,” said council chair Alan Livingston.

“It’s only by working with others and listening to our communities that we decide what work to prioritise.”

The survey starts with the seven priorities which currently guide the council’s planning. They include partnerships, fresh water, risk and resilience, supporting community action, land use choices, coastal and marine areas and regional development.

“These priorities are ones we have identified but we appreciate people may think other things are more important,” said Mr Livingston.

“We want to hear those ideas, so the survey leaves lots of room for people to share their own insights and visions for the future of our region.”

Survey responses will be reported through to regional councillors in August as they start the main work on long term planning for 2018-2028.

“I’d encourage everyone to take this opportunity to feed their ideas into the future of the mighty Waikato,” said Mr Livingston.

“We’re keen to get as many people’s thoughts as possible to help us get our planning right and support a sustainable future for the region.”

The survey is available at www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/ltp. Click the green button for the survey. The survey’s also available at www.surveymonkey.com/r/LongTermPlanning

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