A Community Board is an official part of the local government structure and members of Community Boards are elected every three years during local body elections.
There are existing Community Boards in Wellington, in Tawa and Makara/Ohariu.
Wellington City Council Community Boards are separate to the Council Committees and Sub-committees.
The new Community Board would represent the people of Johnsonville, Raroa, Woodridge, Paparangi & Newlands — the area shown on the map.
A Johnsonville-Newlands Community Board would, like the other WCC Community Boards, have responsibility for overview of matters within their boundary. It would influence decisions made by Wellington City Council that directly affect the area.
A Johnsonville-Newlands Community Board would represent and advocate for our community by:
- telling Council how we feel about policies, bylaws & strategies;
- liaising with community organisations and government departments; and
- making written and oral submissions to Council on behalf of the residents.
While both the Johnsonville Community Association and the Newlands-Paparangi Progressive Association actively represent the views of residents, they have no formal influence on WCC decision-making. A Johnsonville-Newlands Community Board would be different from the existing residents association because it would have direct influence as part of the formal local government structure.
Ignoring the Northern Suburbs would no longer be easy for Council.
We need a Community Board when we have City Councillors to represent us because Johnsonville and Newlands represent the combined lynchpin for the whole Northern Ward which (which includes Churton Park, Glenside, Grenada Village, Grenada North, Horokiwi, Tawa, Takapu Valley and the Ohariu Valley). What’s good for johnsonville and Newlands is good for the whole of the Northern Ward.
A Community Board can
- deliver a voice for our communities that’s stronger than the three Northern Ward councillors on their own.
- ensure that WCC listens to the people of Johnsonville-Newlands,
- be a centre of gravity for a fair proportion of our rates to be invested back into the Johnsonville-Newlands area.
For our application to be considered by WCC, we must raise a petition of support from at least 10% of all registered voters living in the area.
All signatories must include their full name, including middle name/s, for their support to be valid.
Johnsonville Community Association 