Orewa, 27th June 2006

Public Invited to Plan Orewa

Determining the way Orewa will look in 10 years time will be very much a public affair, according to the Rodney District Council’s Orewa Growth project leader Jason Evans.

Mr Evans is organising a two-day planning design forum for mid-August. He says that any person or organisation with an interest in the town’s future look and feel will be able to participate

Mr Evans says the forum will be aimed at coming up with a “master plan” for the town. All ideas will be welcomed and assessed and views sought and considered. He said that similar exercises have been carried out by communities around the world and have resulted in structure plans that in some cases have completely transformed entire communities.

Subjects likely to be covered in Orewa include building heights in the CBD, provision of recreation and service facilities, parking and development of the beach frontage.

To better understand these topics, registered participants in the forum will attend an evening briefing the week before the forum starts. Participants will be briefed on various development issues such as population and commercial growth forecasts, basic development economics, water provision and treatment and design issues.

At the forum, participants will be divided into small groups and challenged to plan for Orewa’s growth. šThe ideas from each of these groups will be then combined into the master plan for presentation to Council.

Anybody thinking that designing a town is easy should think again, says Mr Evans. He says the process is demanding and requires a strong commitment by participants. They will however be helped by having a draft district plan and some computer modelling as a foundation for development.

But, apart from that, it will be “hands-off” by the council, promises Mr Evans. “This is going to be very much a community project. We are challenging those most affected to help define the town’s future. It will certainly be interesting to see what they come up with.”

Mr Evans is yet to announce dates for the forum. He is, however, interested in hearing from anybody who feels the may wish to participate. “It’s a matter of gauging interest at this stage, and anybody interested in participating or knowing more should contact me now,” he says.

ENDS

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