A reserves workshop held with the Kelvin Heights community this week was a first for the district and likely to act as a pilot for other communities, Queenstown Lakes District Council director of parks Paul Wilson said.
“We had 70 people, or about a third of the community attend the workshop, which produced some excellent suggestions and ideas,†he said.
After a community sausage sizzle the group settled down to discuss development plans for each of the community’s reserves, including linkages between them.
“It was a really efficient and effective way of working through the desires of the community, so that we can then turn that into a plan to enable us to action capital projects,†Mr Wilson said.
The process will see a plan developed with a number of outcomes, which will be presented to the community again in approximately six weeks time.
“In this case we have $60,000 to fund capital projects for Kelvin Heights reserves and $120,000 to dedicate to the Kelvin Heights walkway. The workshop has not only taken the element of guesswork out of providing for the community’s priorities but also flagged a number of projects that need to be considered in the mix,†Mr Wilson said.
Once the Kelvin Heights Network Plan had been completed the Council would seriously consider using the process as a pilot for other small communities.
“This has been an entirely positive experience and I think there is real value in taking it to other communities in our district,†Mr Wilson said.
