Whakatāne District Council’s Annual Residents Survey will be undertaken between 29 May and 11 June 2015. Whakatāne District Council General Manager Strategy and Economic Development, Julie Gardyne, says the results of the Survey, in combination with existing technical data, allow the Council to assess what is being done well and the areas the community feels need improvement.

“The Survey is also an opportunity to gain the community’s views on specific Council projects and proposals,” says Ms Gardyne. “We often have the ability to gather people's views at the initial investigation stage, which helps determine preferred approaches, without removing any requirements for direct community consultation.”

The Survey follows a telephone interview format with 300 respondents randomly selected from across the District’s five community board areas on a population pro-rata basis. Each interview should take no more than 20 minutes to complete.

Council is also undertaking a postal survey on its development and compliance services. This targets specific users of those services during the past year. Results of the survey are expected to be available in August.