Consultations

Indicate on the submission form requesting to speak at a hearing in support of your submission.

A schedule of hearings will be produced once it is known how many people would like to speak. You will then be contacted by the council to confirm dates, locations and times. You can decide not to attend a hearing at any stage, but it is helpful if you can let the council know so that the hearings can be rescheduled as necessary.

Please ensure that you provide a daytime phone number and email address on your submission form to ensure that the council can reach you easily.

The location of hearings will depend on the project, some hearings may take place locally.

The hearings generally take place during the working week.

If the hearing is being held at Council’s Dalton Street office, you will be asked to sign-in at Reception and then directed to take a seat in the public seating area. When it is time for you to speak, you  will be asked to stand and talk through a microphone.

Usually, your submission will be heard by elected representative councillors. The names of those who are on the hearing panel will be clearly displayed. In addition, there will usually be council officers who may take notes or be there to provide answers to specific questions.

The hearings are open to members of the public so other members of the public may attend, and the media are also invited.

Sometimes, the hearing is also filmed or taped. You will be advised if this is happening at the hearing.

You should give a brief summary of your submission. You should not read the whole submission, nor should you use this as an opportunity to talk about different issues.

Each person who wants to speak at a hearing is given 10 minutes to speak and to answer questions asked by the hearing panel. More than one person can speak in support of a submission but there is a fixed amount of time for each submission so you will need to share the ten minute allocation.

You will be advised how long you will have to speak when the council confirms the hearing arrangements with you.

Information on the submissions received will be made available on the council’s website before the hearing.

We will acknowledge your submission providing an opportunity to change your mind and providing contact details to do so.

This gives you the opportunity to attend a hearing even if you said ‘no’ on the submission form, or to change your mind if you said ‘yes’ on the submission form.

The council will consider all the information it receives through the written submissions and verbal hearings.

It will take into account the feedback it received and decide whether any changes will need to be made to the draft policy or plan to reflect that feedback.

The final policy or plan will be published on the council’s website once it has been adopted by Council.