Not much time left to have your say

Friday 21 April 2006

Time is running out for people to have their say on the region’s future.

Environment Bay of Plenty’s Draft Ten Year Plan closes for submissions on Wednesday 3 May.

Bay of Plenty residents and groups will need to get in quick if they want to meet the deadline, says chairman John Cronin.

Councillors and staff have promoted the plan extensively over the past few weeks, including sending a summary to every household in the region. “We advertised it in local media, held displays in many regional centres, and have given presentations on it to a variety of organisations,” Mr Cronin says. “This is one of our biggest promotional efforts ever.”

However, he says, residents must make an effort too. “We hope that people will realise how important this is to the future of their region. It’s all about the work we are planning to do over the next 10 years. We have our own priorities but we won’t know whether we’re on the right track or not if people don’t tell us.”

The Draft Ten Year Plan includes proposals for cleaning up Rotorua’s lakes and better bus services, and suggests ways to help fund important roads so they get built more quickly. It makes a strong commitment to continuing to work with local people and groups for a better environment. It also proposes a new way of rating for some of its activities.

So far, the regional council has received about 150 submissions on the draft plan. For more information, including a copy of the summary and submission form, call Environment Bay of Plenty on 0800 ENV BOP (368 267) or go to www.envbop.govt.nz.

ENDS

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