Feedback call for Turangi reserve

Community feedback is being sought to help shape the development of a plan for the future management of Turangi reserves.

Taupo District Council is working with Turangi hapu Nga¯ ti Tu¯ rangitukua to develop the plan that will set out how the town’s reserves, parks and sports fields will be used in years to come. The partnership comes after ancestral land taken by the crown in the 1960s for the construction of the Turangi township was returned as part of the Nga¯ti Tu¯rangitukua Claims Settlement Act in 1999.

A committee of council and Nga¯ ti Tu¯ rangitukua representatives was formed in early 2016 to oversee the creation of a new reserves management plan. Taupo District Council policy manager Nick Carroll said over the next month it was important the community gave feedback about how they would like the reserves used in years to come.

‘‘No one knows these reserves better than the people who use them, so we want to hear ideas from the community on how we can look after them now and in the future,’’ he said. ‘‘From this feedback, the Turangi Reserves Management Plan Committee will create a draft management plan.’’

For more info call council on 07 376 0899.

‘‘Nga¯ ti Tu¯ rangitukua's connection to this land is reflected through hapu mana whenua.’’ Ngaiterangi Smallman