Newlands 10-year Development Plan great step forward
3 February 2011

I welcome the Newlands Paparangi Progressive Association’s development of a 10 year action plan for the development of the area.

This is a great step forward, and I congratulate the NPPA on its initiative.

I was one of the panel assembled by the NPPA to prioritise the over 600 ideas to improve the local community that Newlands/Paparangi people put forward last year.

The panel identified 20 key priorities, and these were launched by the NPPA on 1 February.

At the local level, this is great for the Newlands/Paparangi area – the local community is taking charge of its own destiny and setting for local and central government the way it wants to see its community develop over the next decade, and I warmly welcome that.

At a national level, this initiative also sets a new benchmark, and shows the potential power of organised and focused residents’ associations.

This is an exciting wake-up call for the whole of New Zealand, and I look forward to the day when residents’ associations all over the country are doing likewise in their own areas.

In the meantime, I will be working keenly with the NPPA and the Wellington City Council in the first instance to bring this exciting programme to fruition.

 Details of the 10 Year Plan are available at newlands.civilsociety.org.nz