The Queenstown Lakes District Council will be asked to adopt its bold Ten Year Plan at a meeting on Thursday.
QLDC Mayor Jim Boult said strong community participation has influenced a number of key changes to the document since it went out for community consultation earlier this year.

“We’d like to thank all of the people and groups who made submissions and the hundred or so people who took time out of their days to join us at the hearings. Your input has been vital as we shape the work programme for the next ten years,”

“The deliberation process has been thorough and there has been a lot of debate around the table as councillors carefully considered every submission received. Unfortunately we simply cannot fund everything and there were some tough decisions to be made through that process,” he said.

A number of changes have been made to the ambitious plan. Some of the highlights include:
• More investment in Active Travel in Wanaka (increased by $2.3M to $3.7M, subject to detailed business cases and NZTA support).
• A range of grants to community and business groups.
• Increased investment in transport initiatives to ensure a safer and well planned network.
• Increased funding to complete a community services masterplan for the whole district.
The rates impact will be an overall average increase of 6.89% for 2018-19, slightly lower than the 6.95% originally proposed. The overall rates increase over the full ten years is 3.41% after allowing for growth.

With potentially the largest and most ambitious plan ever proposed by Council, Mayor Boult said the next big challenge was delivering on its promises.

“It has been a huge task producing an affordable plan that will tackle our growth challenges and I am incredibly excited to see it come to life. The next challenge is to ensure the staff are well resourced and empowered to deliver it for our district.”

Also on the table for adoption at Thursday’s meeting is the revised policy on Development Contributions and new fees and charges for Building and Resource Consents.

The full agenda report and 2018-28 Ten Year Plan can be found on the website www.qldc.govt.nz

ENDS

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