Raetihi community groups come together

Raetihi community groups involved with township and community development came together at a special meeting last night (Thu 21 Sept) to discuss how they can better communicate and coordinate amongst themselves.

Council Group Manager Community Services Margaret Hawthorne said that everyone at the meeting could see the advantages of better collaboration and sharing their projects with the wider community.

“A key objective of the Bespoke township concept plans was to act as a starting point for more detailed conversations between the community on how best to progress township revitalisation.”

“Although there wasn’t a lot of support for the Bespoke concept plan ideas themselves they were successful in starting a conversation around township redevelopment and challenging peoples thinking on what could be possibly be achieved.”

“The discussion highlighted there were a number of community groups in Raetihi who had projects on the go and the underlying energy and passion in the community for taking the town forward.”

“It also highlighted that there needed to be better communication between all the groups and the community which led to last night’s meeting.”

“Council and the Waimarino-Waiouru Community Board (WWCB) are willing to assist and help facilitate, however, the input of ideas, energy and passion from local people is key to keeping the projects on track and making steady progress.”

“Ultimately the local community will set their own pace for how quickly things proceed.”

Mrs. Hawthorne said that the groups have all agreed to think about how best to achieve better collaboration and communication amongst themselves and the wider community.

“Another community group meeting date has been set for Wednesday 25 October to discuss these ideas,” she said.

“Any community group who was unable to attend last night’s meeting and would like to be part of the process should call WWCB Community Representative Missy Biddle on 022 132 6960 to make their interest known.”

ENDS

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