A panel has been appointed to consider the 192 submissions received on the Proposed East Coast Beach Vehicle Bylaw.

The panel, made up of Commissioner Rob Enright, Commissioner Ma-rea Clayton and Councillor David Croad, will listen to the 50 submitters who wish to speak at the hearings, set down for three days from 23 to 25 November at the Marlborough Events Centre, 42 Alfred Street, Blenheim. The hearings will begin at 8.30 am each day and while they are open to the public, seating is limited due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Anyone who would like to hear the submissions can join the hearings via Zoom. Please email: eastcoast@marlborough.govt.nz to request a link to the hearing.

Following the hearings the panel will consider all submissions and presentations before making their final recommendations to the Council. Council will then decide whether to make a bylaw. If a bylaw is made it will be advertised by way of a public notice.

The draft bylaw proposes to prohibit motor vehicles on the beach between the Awatere and Waima (Ure) river mouths, with a few exemptions. The aim is to improve public safety and enable habitat restoration and protection of the area’s many threatened and at-risk species.

You can read the submissions at: https://data.marlborough.govt.nz/EastCoastSubmissions2021 or to find out more about the draft bylaw visit: www.marlborough.govt.nz/your-council/bylaws/proposed-east-coast-beach-vehicle-bylaw

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