Southland councils to begin consulting on regional development agency proposal

The Southland Mayoral Forum is going out to consult with Southlanders on a proposal for the creation of a council controlled organisation (CCO) to champion and lead regional development in the region.

The proposal, which has been agreed to by all Southland councils – Environment Southland, Invercargill City, Gore District and Southland District, is designed to take an all-of-Southland approach to social and economic development opportunities, including tourism.

The CCO would have a skills-based board of directors, appointed by the council shareholders. The shareholders would be the four councils holding 75% of the shares, with Ngāi Tahu, community and business interests holding the remaining 25% of shares.

Southland Mayoral Forum chairman and Gore District Mayor Tracy Hicks said getting all the parties to this point was a great achievement and boded well for Southland’s future.

“Now it is up to business interests and the public to take a good look at what we are proposing and to let us know what they think.”

The proposal will be released for public consultation on Monday, 4 September 2017. Submissions will close on 2 October 2017 and hearings will follow.

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