Funding for a collaborative project to define the sort of the communities people want to be living in 15-20 years into the future has been approved by the Whakatāne District Council’s Policy Committee.

The ‘community vision project’ aims to gain the broadest possible involvement of individuals and organisations throughout the Whakatāne District, so that community development priorities can be identified to guide planning processes and generate community-led initiatives.

In discussing the project at last week’s committee meeting, Council elected members acknowledged a need to reach parts of the community which don’t typically participate in local government processes. Committee chairperson, Deputy Mayor Judy Turner, said some sectors of the community were “not well represented at this table”.

“We represent the people who are engaged and while their views are important, we also need to reach the people who are not currently engaged with the Council, so that we understand their thinking,” she said.

Councillor Russell Orr said there was a risk that Council processes had become “remote from the silent majority – the people who just get on with their lives and don’t have time to get involved”, and advocated for an imaginative approach to ensure that useful information was generated.

Newly-elected Councillors Mike van der Boom and Nándor Tánczos also voiced strong support for the project and said it was important to hear the voices of the wider community.

“Council members all have strong links to the community, but the reality is that we don’t represent everyone," Councillor Tánczos said. “I’m keen to be involved, but I think we should also utilise our Community Boards – they’re an important asset and can bring some really good energy to this.”

Mayor Tony Bonne described the project as the start of a journey to empower the community. “To be effective, we have to be in touch with our people, and I think this is an important step which will allow our communities to define their vision for the future.”

The committee adopted a resolution to utilise unbudgeted funds for the project, with costs to be recovered from rates revenue in the 2017/18 year. Engagement activities will begin in February next year and involve a wide range of community organisations and other stakeholders. Online feedback options will also be utilised, together with a school-based process to reach younger residents. The information generated will then be discussed through facilitated public meetings and short-, medium- and long-term community priorities and aspirations identified.