The community is being invited to share their aspirations for the city, as Invercargill City Council calls for people to share their thoughts on the Long-term Plan 2024-2034.
The Where’s Your Heart? campaign, which will run until June 19, gives people the chance to engage with and shape Council’s plans earlier, before the formal consultation process is held between March and April 2024.
Elected members will meet people where they are – in real life, and online – as they host pop-up visits around the city to get feedback from a broad range of people. The community can also share its views using digital platform Let’s Talk at letstalk.icc.govt.nz
A Community Stakeholders Hui will also be held on May 31.
Councillors began working on the Long-term Plan 2024-2034 shortly after the October 2022 elections. The plan shares Council’s vision – Our City with Heart: He Ngākau Aroha – with residents. In the plan, Councillors identified key outcomes they believe will create a thriving Invercargill:
- Fostering one community, where everybody felt valued and proud to live in the city
- Creating a vibrant, safe city centre that met a diverse range of cultural needs
- Strengthening a future-focused economy, delivered through innovation and partnership, and supported by appropriate infrastructure
- Growing a healthy, resilient environment where the city was well-positioned to navigate climate change.
The Long-term plan spans financial and infrastructure strategies, the delivery of core and community services, major projects including the redevelopment of Invercargill’s museum, and how Council will approach strategic issues such as housing, climate change, and the rejuvenation of the city centre.
Mayor Nobby Clark said while Council had a lot it wanted to achieve for the community, the world was becoming increasingly complex.
“It’s crucial we think about the long-term wellbeing of Invercargill. Council has to ensure our strategic priorities match up with the infrastructure our community needs not just today, but into the future as well,” he said.
“At the same time, we need to balance the work we do with maintaining community affordability. We know times are especially tough for people right now, and we want our residents to tell us what really matters to them.”
Invercargill City Council Strategy and Policy Manager Rhiannon Suter said it was important for Invercargill residents to have their say.
“The Long-term Plan 2024-2034 is completely Councillor-led, which means this is the community’s opportunity to engage with its elected members, and ensure its voice is
heard.”
Additional information and submission forms are available at Te Hīnaki – Civic Building, the Invercargill Public Library, and Splash Palace in Invercargill, as well as at the Bluff Service Centre.
Where’s Your Heart engagement sessions
Pop-up visits
- Sunday 21 May – Bluff 4 Square, 12pm to 2pm
- Wednesday 24 May – Countdown Tay St, 11am to 2pm
- Sunday 28 May – Mitre 10 Invercargill, 12pm to 2pm
- Wednesday 31 May – Invercargill Library, 3pm to 5pm
- Thursday 1 June – Rotary Book Sale (Civic Theatre, Invercargill), 3.30pm to 6pm
- Wednesday 7 June – Kmart Invercargill, 11.30am to 1.30pm
Community Stakeholders Hui*
- Wednesday 31 May – Council Chambers, 10.30am to 12pm
* Please register to attend at letstalk.icc.govt.nz
