Stronger Communities with Local Representation

After three years as Chair of the Hagley Ferrymead Community Board Sara Templeton has confirmed that she is running for Council in the new Heathcote ward.

“I have loved my time on the Community Board,” she said, “and we have made a lot of progress on our local community facilities and in getting the Council to better engage with its residents. However, there is still a lot of change that needs to happen and Council is where the policy and direction setting happens.”

Mrs Templeton lives in Heathcote Valley, in the middle of the new ward with her husband and three primary aged children. She sees this as an advantage for the community. “It means that I am out and about locally and easy to approach when people need help with issues they’re facing. It was clear in the latest Representation Review that residents wanted better local representation, with councillors that live in and are connected to their wards.”

During her time on the Community Board Mrs Templeton also chaired the Victoria Square Community Reference Group which oversaw Cera’s consultation process and was successful in seeing the redevelopment of Victoria Square become a restoration project. “Christchurch spoke loudly and clearly on Victoria Square,” she said, “and it’s time that we had more say on the other developments in the heart of the city, starting with Cathedral Square. People feel disconnected from the central city and need to be consulted on and engaged in its rebuild if it is to be successful.”

Nominations for this year’s local body elections open on July 15 with voting papers arriving in mid-September. Voting ends on 8 October, with preliminary results announced later that day.

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