Only four days left to submit on Environment Waikato plan

Waikato residents have only four days left to give feedback on Environment Waikato’s draft 2009-19 Long Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP).

The LTCCP sets out the activities the regional council intends to fund and provide over the next decade.

Council chairman Peter Buckley is urging ratepayers to read the key proposals in the plan and let Environment Waikato know if they want changes.

Ratepayers have been asked for feedback on a number of proposals, including whether they support paying an extra $1.80 a year towards the Maungatautari Ecological Island Project.

This project would contribute to Environment Waikato’s statutory responsibility to maintain biodiversity – the variety of animal and plant species, their genes and ecosystems – in the Waikato.

The Maungatautari project aims to create a protected habitat on Maungatautari, a forested volcano standing between Cambridge, Te Awamutu and Putaruru, where native plants and animals can thrive, free from the threat of mammalian predators.

The project was recently ranked in the top 25 most important ecological restoration projects in Australasia after an 18-month search by a specialist panel set up by the journal of the Ecological Society of Australasia – Ecological Management and Restoration – and the Society for Ecological Restoration International.

Other LTCCP issues the council is seeking feedback on include proposals to cut spending on air quality, waste minimisation, pest management and natural heritage protection and a plan to end Clean Streams funding for farmers.

The LTCCP submission period opened on March 20 and will close at 4pm next Monday, April 20.

“The proposals in the LTCCP directly affect your rates and your quality of life, so please let us know whether you agree with them,” Cr Buckley said.

“This process is about achieving the desired outcomes the community considers important for its wellbeing.”

Residents can make submissions online at www.ew.govt.nz/ltccp, or use the submission form in the back of Your Waikato, a special issue of the council’s Envirocare newsletter.

Your Waikato summarises the key issues in the LTCCP and was delivered to all Waikato residents in March.

To request a copy of Your Waikato or the full LTCCP please call Environment Waikato’s freephone 0800 800 401. Both publications are also available online at www.ew.govt.nz/ltccp.