MEDIA RELEASE 17 November 2010 ______________________________________________________________ Community Plans

An opportunity for residents to influence future directions

Kaitaia and Ahipara will have the opportunity to influence the future directions their communities will take at public meetings scheduled to take place within the next two weeks.

The meetings are designed to set up a framework for the development of Community Plans for the two towns.

"An essential ingredient for successful forward planning is to have community input and buy-in at the earliest possible stage. These two meetings at Kaitaia and Ahipara are the first steps towards this goal," Community Development Advisor Ken Ross says.

The intention was to draw out local aspirations on the protection, use and development of land and local resources. Once the broad outlines were in place, working parties would be set up to bring the forward planning ideas together and fill in the details.

"Over a 12 -18 month period working with these communities, a detailed Community Plan can be put in place as a planning guide for the next 20 to 25 years," he said.

Community Plans were documents which outlined pathways to achieve local aspirations, setting clear and realistic goals for the development of each community. The plans were developed by the community, for the community and would be "owned" by that community.

"The council's role initially is to facilitate the establishment of the plans, and then to work with each community to achieve their aspirations. Ideally a Community Plan will reflect consensus, but more realistically it will be a broad reflection of the vision and aspirations of the majority.

"It will be a living document which will need to be reviewed and updated as circumstances change. The plans can be used for forward planning, to attract economic development, act as a visitor guide and provide an insight for new residents moving into the area," Ken Ross says.

The most important ingredient at this stage was for the community to bring forward as wide a reflection of its visions and aspirations as possible to ensure the plan which evolved was "community" rather than "council" based.

"Participation and ownership is so very important if a Community Plan is to reach its goals and objectives. It is important that as many as possible take the time to attend the inaugural meetings," he said.

The Ahipara meetings:  6.30 p.m. at the Te Rarawa Rugby Club on Wednesday 01 December and 

10 a.m. at the Korou Koro Marae on Tuesday 07 December 2010.

Kaitaia meetings: 2.30 p.m. and again at 6.30 p.m. at the Dalmatian Community Hall on Tuesday 07 December 2010.

Residents seeking more information should contact Ken Ross on 0800 920 029

or visit the council's website at www.fndc.govt.nz and key in Community Plans

Further inquiries to:- Communications Office or Ken Ross PH 0800 920 029