Invercargill City Council is taking steps to develop a 30-50 year Master Plan for the future of the Sandy Point Domain.

The Master Plan will establish a long-term plan for Sandy Point Domain’s future use, asset renewal, and development, helping to guide future funding decisions, while maintaining its role as a recreation hub for the people of Invercargill and Southland.

Council Manager Parks and Recreation Caroline Rain said to plan for the future of the domain, the Master Plan process would look at recreation use and trends, the relevance of recreation activities to Invercargill’s future population, the quality of the Domain, and the potential climate change impacts on existing assets and infrastructure.

“We know how important Sandy Point is to the Invercargill and Southland communities who use it for walking, biking and running, amongst other things.

“This is why we are committed to maintaining it as a recreational area for our future generations to enjoy as much as we do now,” Rain said.

Council started engagement with project partners and stakeholders in May and will continue throughout the duration of the project until November.

Community consultation on Council’s consultation website letstalk.icc.govt.nz is now available and will close on September 23. An information hub at the Invercargill Public Library will be open from September 10 to 17, with drop-in sessions running on Tuesday 13 September from 12pm to 2pm and 4pm to 6pm, Thursday 15 September from 11.30am to 1.30pm and 4pm to 6pm, and on Saturday 17 September from 10am to 2pm.

Rain said stakeholder engagement was a key component of the project and it would help guide the development of the Master Plan.

“We understand and our experience tells us how important early stakeholder and community engagement involvement will be, to deliver and achieve the best outcomes for this project.”

People are invited to share their thoughts on the future of Sandy Point by visiting letstalk.icc.govt.nz/sandy-point-master-planning-engagement.