Council puts up $45k for Parua Bay vision

Whangarei District Council has made $45,000 available as part of a pilot programme to enhance the Parua Bay community.

The council is trialling a new initiative, The Village Planning Programme, which it hopes will develop relationships between the council and communities across the district.

Each village plan will put local communities in charge of developing a vision for their area, along with identifying and prioritising projects.

It has partnered with the Parua Bay Community Focus Group in the pilot programme by co-ordinating the development of a village plan for the Whangarei Heads settlement.

A $45,000 grant has been made available from 2013 for the project and the WDC has asked the focus group to co-ordinate community consultation as part of preparing the village plan.

The plan will identify priority projects to be funded by the council. The projects should be designed to build on the unique identity of Parua Bay and add to its sense of place within the community.

The focus group has sent out questionnaires to Bay residents asking what they think is needed in the area.

A public meeting to explain the plan in more detail will be held at the Parua Bay Community Centre tomorrow, from 7.30pm.