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Methven suffers lack of identity BY SUSAN SANDYS
SUSAN.S@THEGUARDIAN.CO.NZ
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Methven suffers from apathy and a lack of identity, says a consultant who has drafted a proposal to inspire change in the town. “There are no visible initiatives in place to market or promote Methven,” said Peter Summers of the Methvenbased FnB Group in his proposal for the Methven Community Board. There was also no clear vision for the future of the town, and “a strong apathetic view held amongst all stakeholders towards each other”. “There is no indication that anyone is willing to initiate a leadership role to drive change,” Summers said.
“Methven suffers from a lack of identity.” Opportunities presented were to initiate leadership, establish a vision for the future, influence community and business sector engagement and deliver real actions to effect change. Methven Community Board chairman Dan McLaughlin is hoping the plan and its next stage of community consultation get to the heart of what Methven needs to do to promote itself and drive economic growth. He said while some would find the plan “harsh”, he believed it was an unavoidable fact that tourism in the town needed direction. And while most businesses were doing well, there was a need
for getting everyone together and moving forward. The board approved $4200 of discretionary funding at its six-weekly meeting on Monday, to enact the community engagement and marketing campaign proposals in the plan, entitled A Proposal to Ignite Change. McLaughlin said following through on these would be a good extension of the Our Place survey undertaken by the Ashburton District Council, and previous community consultation undertaken by the board.
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