The council is currently reviewing the Public Places, Parks and Reserves Bylaw 2016, and is asking for the community’s feedback on the proposed changes.
Share your feedback!
Our parks and public spaces are important places for our community. They provide an environment for recreation, exercise, and socialisation, and they contribute to wellbeing for people of all ages. To make sure they are enjoyable to everybody who lives in or visits Whanganui, the council needs to manage how these spaces are utilised. This can mean a range of things, such as protecting wildlife and plants, managing bookings for events, or reducing disruptive behaviour.
The updated Public Places Bylaw is intended to:
- regulate activities,
- protect the environment, and
- ensure safety and accessibility in our public places.
A draft proposal has been put together with changes to the overall readability and clarity of the bylaw, and a review of the fees structure.
Booking Fees
We are also asking for community feedback on proposed changes to the fees system for booking public places, to simplify the process and to help bring it in line with the Open Spaces and Physical Activity Strategy adopted last year.
The council charges a fee to book public spaces for events, and how these fees are structured is a key theme of the bylaw review. Booked events can be commercial like the Extravaganza Fair, community events, or private events, such as weddings.
Currently there are three different fee options to choose from. You can share your opinion on which fee structure should be used from the list below and what factors should be considered with each different type of booking fee – as well as by providing feedback on the bylaw.
| No fee |
Bookings cost nothing |
| Fixed fee |
Booking fee starts at the same base level but the total amount may differ depending on size of event and use of space |
| Sliding fee |
Booking fees start at different rates (including no fee for community groups) depending on the booking |