Last-minute flood of submissions for representation review

With only an hour to go before the Council's representation review consultation closes at 5pm, a flood of submissions has boosted numbers from single digits at the start of the week to over 100.

Council staff say there has a been a steady stream of submissions coming in all day, with a significant number of people wanting to speak to the Council about their comments.

After consultation closes today, staff will start the task of compiling the submissions and grouping them into themes. They will be presented to Councillors before hearings start in the last week of October. If needed, the Council will also hold hearings in the first week of November.

In August the Council published its initial proposal, suggesting wide-spread changes to ward boundaries, and to the numbers of councillors and community boards. The proposed arrangements are to be decided before next year's local body elections, scheduled for 8 October 2016.

After the hearings, the Council is due to make its final decision on Wednesday 18 November, which it will publish on Friday 20 November.

If there are any appeals or objections to the Council's final proposal, the Local Government Commission will hear them next year.

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