Establishing a freight and logistics action group is one of the top ten priorities of the Waikato Plan which has today been signed off for public consultation.
The Waikato Plan is designed for a step change in regional social and economic performance, enabling councils, business, community funders and others to speak with one voice on the main issues in discussions with the central Government.
A joint committee involving local government and stakeholder representatives is approving the plan.
Some of the key actions outlined in the plan include collaboration on a regional development strategy, identifying regional priorities for community infrastructure, and integration of the Waikato and Auckland transport networks.
It marks the first time that councils of the Waikato and their partners have joined to collaboratively address the large-scale social, economic and other challenges, and opportunities faced by the region.
It reflects a series of agreements between agencies on the top priorities for action, including the establishment of a freight and logistics action group, and identifying the regional priorities for service and technical infrastructure.
The plan’s development lays the foundation for a detailed and coordinated process to improve regional well-being on a variety of fronts, said the committee’s independent chair, Margaret Devlin.
“This plan joins the dots, enabling us to move forward in an integrated way to achieve our goals,” says Devlin.
“One key use for the plan is a tool in national and regional negotiations to secure additional resourcing and funding for the Waikato’s needs and development priorities,” she says.
Now we want to hear what the community thinks about our proposals before moving on to full implementation,” says Devlin.
The plan’s public submissions period will be from 10 March to 10 April. The submission form, the draft Waikato Plan summary and the draft full Waikato Plan will be available at waikatoplan.co.nz from 10 March.
Public hearings are due later in April and early May following the closing of submissions, with the implementation of the final plan due to begin in August.
The latest draft is available here.
