Residents flock to discuss Representation Review issues

Many hundreds of residents have flocked to discussions on the Representation Review as the Council prepares its proposal for new local body election boundaries (wards).

The high level of interest and debate has taken Council staff by surprise.

“We found that residents loved having Council people discussing community with them,” says Mary Richardson, Director of the Office of the Chief Executive. “They wanted to talk about the human factor and they wanted to share their stories.

“They say that they highly value their relationships with local people, which is key to how they define their community. Many felt they had more than one community, and a large number said some geographic feature like a river or park defined their area.”

The community-based meetings started last year and to date, Council staff have been to about 80 meetings and events as they gather information on what residents want. They were helped earlier this year by students from the University of Canterbury course, CHCH101: Rebuilding Christchurch, who talked to communities that often do not take part in Council activities.

The meetings have canvassed issues such as:

· Are the boundaries right for your ward?

· Do you have the right number of councillors?

· Do you have the right number of community board members?

· Should Banks Peninsula become part of a city ward?

The Council decided on a ‘grass roots’ approach to find out what residents think about fair and effective representation, two of the key issues in the six-yearly Representation Review.

From late April to June it will formally consult residents on proposed ward boundary changes, elected member numbers and community board numbers.

- ends -

© Scoop Media