Consultation closes on Draft Annual Plan

Public consultation closes at 5pm today on Christchurch City Council’s Draft Annual Plan 2012/13.

The Draft Annual Plan is the Council’s proposed budget for the year ahead. It sets out all the proposed projects and services the Council plans to deliver, how much they will cost and where the money comes from.

The public have been invited to comment on the proposals in the draft plan over the past four weeks. This consultation period closes at 5pm today (Monday 21 May 2012). By mid-morning, the Council had received 2266 submissions.

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker says plans for the future of 10 major community facilities have generated significant interest from the community.

“Past experience tells us that we will continue to receive a good number of submissions throughout today as people hand them in right up until the deadline. The feedback provided by these individuals and groups will help ensure the Council makes the right decisions for the year ahead.

“We still have the public hearings process to go through and we will be taking note of all the submissions that the public has made before a final plan for the year ahead is adopted at the end of June.

“There are some major issues to consider in this year’s Draft Annual Plan as a result of the earthquakes and this year, more than any other, it has been important to hear what the community thinks about our proposals.”

Mayor Parker says the series of Open Days and Community Drop-in Sessions held around the city were useful in helping residents to find out more about the draft plan and prepare their submissions.

“The earthquakes have had a massive impact on our city and there are some major decisions to be made this year. Putting together this draft plan has been challenging and, after considering the feedback from our residents, I am confident we will have a sound plan that, despite the enormity of the task before us, is able to meet the costs of the rebuild,” Mayor Parker says.

Public hearings on the Draft Annual Plan will be held at the beginning of June. The Council will consider all the submission made and then adopt a final plan for the year ahead before the end of June.