The process for making a submission may vary slightly with each consultation. Under the list of Current Consultations you will find all the instructions you need for making a submission.
Associated with this is information regarding presenting your submission to the Council in person as part of the hearings process.
Hearing Your Submission
The hearing will normally be held in the Council Chambers, and there is seating at the rear of the room.
You will be presenting to the full Council, or to a hearing panel. Staff involved in the project will also be at the hearing. Other submitters and members of the public may also be present.
Generally 10 minutes will be allowed for hearing each submission, including time for questions.
Because there may be a number of submissions to hear, and a limited time in which to hear them, your cooperation in keeping to your time allocation would be appreciated.
When it is your turn to speak, you will be asked to come up to the table. You can either sit or stand, whichever feels the most comfortable - it is up to you. You are welcome to bring a supporter with you.
Members of the Council or hearing panel will have a copy of your submission before the meeting. It is suggested that you should use your time allocation to highlight the main points in your submission and emphasise the things you think are most important.
You may be asked questions about your submission, so please stay at the table after you have finished speaking. The Council or hearing panel will not enter into a debate with you on your submission.
Decisions
After the hearing, the Council or hearing panel will consider all written and verbal submissions.
Following the decisions you will be sent a letter advising you of the decision on your submission, including the reason for that decision.
Public Meetings and Workshops
Large and small projects undertaken by Council require consultation with residents of our District to ensure the Council has relevant and up-to-date information. There are a variety of ways for the Council to do this with (and not limited to):
- Street meetings for affected residents
- Workshops with steering and reference groups
- Public meetings
- The Vision/Action/Progress Café process.
All of these meetings will be notified in a number of ways with the most popular being via the Community Noticeboard page in the Northern Outlook. Where local residents are affected by a project Council will communicate with a ‘target’ group to ensure local opinions are canvassed. Our Let's Talk page has the information about public meetings and workshops for each project/plan, and things we are currently consulting on.