The Westport Master Plan will go before Buller District councillors next week seeking endorsement to take the next steps.

Buller District Council (BDC) will consider the Plan at its 26 March ordinary meeting.

Councillors can either decide to discontinue work on Master Planning or facilitate a range of activities to move it forward. This includes permission to seek external seed funding, progress discussions with Pāmu (Landcorp) and investigate the establishment of the Special Purpose Vehicle to implement the next steps.

Council will also hear the results of a four-week long engagement with the local community on the Draft Plan. In total, 126 people submitted on the Draft Plan with most coming via the BDC Let’s Talk online engagement tool. The engagement ran between 10 February and 10 March - 18 submissions - were hand-written and collected at either the library in Westport or the Resilient Westport office. The project team engaged with over 620 individuals through various community events and venues, with a strong focus on direct engagement and community outreach.

Buller District Council Chief Executive Simon Pickford says overall, there appeared to be a solid level of support for the plan, with relevant concerns raised throughout the process.

“When asked if they agree with the approach to planning for Westport’s future growth and development, 77% of respondents indicated they either agree or strongly agree (15.9 % agree, 61.1% strongly agree) with the approach. Participants were given the opportunity to offer additional thoughts or ideas and 62 per cent of respondents did so.

“Overall it was a positive result, with many community members recognising the importance of proactive planning and noting the plan was well thought out, visionary and necessary for Westport's future. Some concerns were also noted, including the need for more information on how the plan would evolve in the future. Participants touched on economic considerations, funding priorities, affordability, the environment around the proposed development site and the Plan’s long-term impact on businesses and homeowners.

“It has always been understood that the Master Plan holds opportunities and challenges for the Westport community, and these are the factors that councillors will be considering next week. If the Plan is endorsed, this marks the close of the Resilient Westport funded element of Master Planning (funded until the end of April) and the start of Phase Three, which would be Council-led. It’s important to note that progression from here is primarily about external funding. The endorsement being sought involves permission to seek external funding and support to continue the work.

However, a small amount of funding has been included in the Year 1 of the draft Long-Term Plan (LTP) to support initial engagement and negotiations to maintain momentum,” says Mr Pickford.

Note:

The full agenda will be available on the Buller District Council website from 21 March. A summary of the engagement activity is below:

To maximise authentic community participation, a targeted outreach and multi-channel approach was used, including:

• 12 Community Drop-in Sessions (24 hours in total) – Held at the Resilient Westport office, providing opportunities for direct discussions and feedback over a selection of time and days to suit community needs.

• Social Media Campaign – A series of targeted Facebook posts (32 in total) reached 6,600 community members, driving awareness and participation. This resulted in a 270% increase in page follows and more than 22,000 page views (78% increase).

• Print Media Promotion – Published four newspaper advertisements across two platforms to inform the public and provide transparency.

• Direct Outreach – The project team engaged with over 620 individuals through various community events and venues, including:

o Local workplaces (e.g., Bathurst, Property Brokers, law firms, Jennian Homes) o Primary and Secondary Schools (Westport High School Seniors, Combined Schools Board, and Teachers)

o Non-Governmental Organisations (e.g., Homebuilders Trust, Sub-committees) o Church and faith-based groups

o Community markets and informal café drop-ins.

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