Significance & Engagement Policy Refresh
This consultation is now closed for feedback. The team are currently analysing all of the feedback received on the proposed changes. Thank you for having your say.
Our Significance and Engagement Policy identifies how and when communities can expect to be engaged or consulted on decisions about issues, proposals, assets and activities.
About the current policy
The current policy was developed and adopted in 2014.
The policy includes two interrelated sections on significance and engagement.
The significance section:
- sets out how and when communities can expect us to engage before making decisions
- describes our approach to determining the significance of proposals and decisions
- lists the council’s strategic assets.
The engagement section provides best practice methods on how to engage effectively and inclusively with the diverse communities of Tāmaki Makaurau.
What we are proposing
We are proposing a refresh to the policy which will take effect from February 2022.
Updates to engagement section of the policy
The changes proposed to the engagement component of the policy are minimal.
These include:
- refining and simplifying existing text to strengthen the policy and make it user-friendly
- refreshing the current set of engagement principles to reflect a changing and more diverse Tāmaki Makaurau
- updating policy content to reference the policy’s connection to our Engagement Guidelines. This is a separate, living document which operationalises the policy and standardises engagement across the organisation by providing practical and best-practice engagement advice.
Updates to the significance section of the policy
The two main updates in the significance section of the draft policy are about the assessment of significance and strategic assets.
We are proposing to clarify that significance will be assessed as a continue- from low to high.
We also want to clarify that where a number of proposals or decisions are to be taken together, significance should be assessed on the cumulative impact of the whole package.
Strategic assets, as defined under the Local Government Act 2002, are assets or groups of assets that the council needs to continue to own in order to achieve outcomes that are important to the current or future well-being of the community.
We are proposing to update the list of strategic assets in accordance with the following key principles:
- assets which are not used for the delivery of services are not considered strategic;
- most council strategic assets are identified as groups, or networks of assets to reflect the way in which they deliver services and enable us to respond to changing needs;
- the desired outcome of identifying a strategic asset is to protect its ability to deliver services (this focuses attention on underlying assets rather than shareholdings).
The following table lists summarises the proposed changes to the list of strategic assets:
2014 Policy | Draft 2021 Policy | Reason for proposed change |
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| Minor editorial change to remove the specific calling out of one component of the network. A decision related to Britomart would need to consider the impact on the overall network to assess whether it was significant. |
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| Category has been broadened to reflect the importance of the footpath network to Aucklanders. |
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| Minor editorial change to combine the water networks into one line. |
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| Minor editorial change to reflect council terminology. |
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| Minor change to reflect the management of community facilities as one network. The community facilities network includes arts and culture facilities, community centres, libraries, pools and leisure facilities, and venues for hire (community or rural halls) |
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| Removal of heritage scheduled buildings and structures that are not used for the delivery of services. |
| Removal of these assets where they are not used for the delivery of council services. | |
| Removed as the focus of significance assessment should be on the control of the underlying assets rather than the corporate structure by which they are managed. | |
|
| Minor editorial change to reflect the inclusion of Auckland Central Library within the community facilities network. |
|
| Minor editorial change to include the entire network of stadiums and venues instead of listing each individual asset out. |
| Minor editorial change to recognise the zoo as a specific strategic asset | |
| Minor editorial change to recognise the art gallery as a specific strategic asset | |
| Minor editorial change to recognise the art collection as a specific strategic asset | |
|
| Minor editorial to reflect the arrangements under which the council provides social housing |
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| No change |
|
| No change |
When you can have your say
You can have your say from 27 September to 18 October 2021.
