Community asked for input on Council office location
People head into council offices for many reasons: to register a dog, attend a meeting, report an issue, or get advice in person. But which location best suits the future needs of our community, and why?
That’s the question Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) is asking as part of a month-long community engagement process starting today.
QLDC Strategic Projects Manager Paul Speedy said there’s been a lot of talk about a potential new Civic Administration Building in Tāhuna Queenstown over the years, but the question of where it goes has never specifically been asked.
“Our Queenstown-based staff operate across five separate buildings, and there has long been discussion about options to consolidate and streamline access to Council services for the community. While a preference for a town centre location has previously been signalled through various consultation processes over the years, Councillors would like to hear what local residents think would work best for them before making any decisions on next steps,” he said.
While a location assessment is available online, QLDC is asking the community to imagine the future and what might work best for them in their daily lives.
“We’re not presenting specific options – instead we’ve provided some possible future scenarios to get people thinking about how they might interact with Council services in the future. We’re also asking the question of how a new office could be delivered,” he said.
“Council is very open-minded about what that looks like, whether it’s status quo, a new build on Council land or leasing a new or existing building. That could be in the town centre, Frankton, Five Mile or somewhere else altogether. The most important thing is that our services are accessible and delivered in a cost-effective way,” he said.
Wānaka-Upper Clutha based residents can also share their views on whether the current Council offices meet local needs and whether they have ideas for the future as the community grows.
Mr Speedy acknowledged the ongoing reform affecting local government.
“Widespread reform is creating a lot of uncertainty about how councils will operate in the future and we acknowledge it might seem a little strange to be starting this conversation at this time. However, councils still need to fulfil their statutory obligations and significant work is already underway to develop a Long Term Plan for 2027-2037. Any decision on providing budget for a future Council office location needs to feed into that process,” he said.
“We want to hear as much feedback as possible to ensure any next steps are meeting community needs. So make sure you chat about it with family, friends and colleagues and encourage them to take part too,” he said.
Full details can be found at letstalk.qldc.govt.nz/cab
