Time to make a submission on Invercargill City Council’s Draft Annual Plan 2025/2026 is rapidly running out.

Public consultation on the draft plan opened on March 13, and was set to close at 5pm on Sunday, April 13.

Council Group Manager Community Engagement and Corporate Services Trudie Hurst said more than 300 submissions had been received so far.

“The draft annual plan plays a huge role in guiding what Council tackles as its strategic priorities and investments, and has an impact that lasts much longer than simply one year. These are decisions that shape the direction of our community, and they affect us all,” she said.

“It really is vital that people speak up and tell Councillors what they believe are our community’s most pressing issues. I’d encourage everybody to read the Consultation Document, think about the direction they want to see Invercargill and Bluff take, and make a submission. This is your chance to make your voice count.”

Elected members and staff had met with members of the community during a series of engagement events throughout Invercargill and Bluff during the consultation period.

The Draft Annual Plan 2025/2026 outlines the projects and day-to-day services on Council’s books for the next financial year, as well as how much it expects these to cost, and how it plans to finance them, Hurst said.

Key topics outlined in the draft plan include changes to fees and charges – including public transport fares, and commercial water rates – Urban Play, and Council’s preferred water service delivery option, part of central government’s Local Water Done Well legislation.

For more information, to view the Consultation Document and supporting information, or to make a submission, visit Let’s talk Invercargill

Supporting information and documents, as well as submission forms, are also available at Te Hīnaki Civic Building, Invercargill City Libraries and Archives, Murihiku Marae, and the Bluff Service Centre.  The submission form also included a space for the community to alert Council to other issues they believed should be prioritised, Hurst said.

Consultation will close at 5pm on Sunday, 13 April. Hearings will take place throughout April, with Council’s elected members set to deliberate on the draft plan in May. The Annual Plan 2025/2026 will then go up for adoption in June.