Champion vision to move Waipā forward for next 10 years

We’re Waipā Home of Champions and we plan to stay that way.

That’s the overwhelming sentiment of Waipā communities who were asked earlier this year how they felt about where the district was heading and if Council’s vision reflected current and future aspirations, priorities and needs for Waipā.

The vision for Waipā for more than 10 years has been ‘Waipā Home of Champions - Building Champion Communities Together’. A ‘Waipā Home of Champions’ brand was established shortly after confirming the vision to identify and celebrate the district and its champion communities, and all things residents love about living and working here.

With planning underway to develop Council’s next long term plan, Waipā mayor Jim Mylchreest said a critical first step was for Council to survey residents and check if the vision was still relevant and captured how people saw the district moving ahead.

Participants were asked to rate Council's vision for Waipā where feedback consisted of a single question and was gathered on a five-point agreement scale.

“We had a really strong response rate from our communities with about almost a thousand people sharing their thoughts, many of which were on behalf of their families and whanau,” said Mylchreest.

“Generally, residents held a positive view of Council's vision for the future with over two thirds - just under 70 per cent - of residents agreeing that it captures the best way forward for our communities,” he added.

Council reviewed all feedback and has now adopted a slightly tweaked version, settling on ‘Waipā Home of Champions - Building Connected Communities’.

“This vision shapes the development of our next Long Term Plan and will help us to set out key projects, services, activities and programmes of work for the next 10 years.

“Our Long Term Plan must be visionary and future focussed, and having a strong vision will inform the overall strategic direction for the district.”