So here we go again. Council state they listen to the Community yet the evidence tells us otherwise. According to the Agenda for the Council meeting held on March 20th 2012 in regards to the CBD Kiosk redevelopment “Consultation has been a key component of the project providing various opportunities through workshops, forums and face to face interviews for local businesses, stakeholders, community and Council to have input into the development of the final plan”. And again we read “Council received a report at its September 2011 Ordinary Meeting of Council detailing the survey that was carried out by BPW. This report also detailed the way forward for the site which involved further community consultation, which was subsequently carried out”. The Association sought an invitation to the initial consultation and were refused on the grounds that we weren’t users of the facility. At no stage after the initial consultation was the Association’s opinion sought. Where is the wider community consultation?

The Association will be presenting Council with questions during question time at tonight’s meeting. We will be seeking community support to try and get Council to see reason when it comes to projects like this. After all Councillors are there for the community and represent their views – not some agenda of their own.