Where to from here?
Well, we have models to follow. To get an idea of what is possible for united communities - Porirua District Council is one of three finalists in the International Awards for Liveable Communities.
"Porirua City Council and the community work to improve city villages
The award-winning Village Planning Programme is a groundbreaking partnership between Porirua City Council and its communities.
It puts communities in charge of developing a vision for their neighbourhoods and then partnering with Council to make it happen. This vision is brought together through community consultation and developed into Village Plans, which lay out the community's
goals and aspirations for the future of their neighbourhood.
goals and aspirations for the future of their neighbourhood.
The programme won the 2009 Local Government Excellence Awards and is a finalist in the 2010 International Liveable Communities Awards, which have attracted entries from around the world. The winners are being announced in November 2010. To learn more about these awards and Porirua City Council's entries return to the Community Projects home page."
- excerpt from Porirua Council website
Why is this relevant? Well, inclusion of village residents in the structure planning of their own village is the approach we are attempting to take. And this model has been successful in rejuvenating and enhancing villages in the Porirua area.
Even better, the instigator and manager of this initiative, Porirua City Council Chief Engineer, Roger Blakely, has been appointed Chief Planning Officer for the new Auckland Council. This gives us support for this kind of initiative at a high level within the new council structure.
