The first in a series of public workshops was held last night asking the community to plan Nelson's future for the next 50 years. The result was a range of interesting comments and ideas.

Key issues identified included the need to build a resilient, vibrant community and concerns about our economic future - with some interesting views on how that might look in 50 years time.

Chris Ward Manager Strategic Response says “'The Nelson of 2060 could have completely different needs from today - the price of fuel and food combined with our population demographics means we have to start thinking now about the real effect this will have on the way that businesses and our community develop.”

Participants came up with a variety of creative statements about what our vision for Nelson's future should be. Councillor Ian Barker, a Stoke resident, attended the workshop last night and urged people to get involved in this process. “Everyone has a stake in deciding what Nelson's future should look like. I encourage people in the community to make the effort to ensure their views are taken into consideration through the workshop process. Too often feedback is dominated by those who are really committed to a particular issue and I would like to be confident that the outcome of this project will be a vision that represents the views of the wider community of Nelson."

There are still three workshops left for people in the community to have their say.

Thursday 26 May 9.30am – 12noon at Victory Community Centre
Friday 27 May 1 – 3.30pm at The Granary at Founders Heritage Park
Tuesday 31 May 7 – 9.30pm at Trafalgar Pavilion at Trafalgar Park
Get more information on the workshops and the process here.