Community temperature checks
Our Wellbeing forums in Wānaka and Queenstown in 2021 were attended by nearly 40 people, and another 135 shared their views through an online survey.
The events used small-group discussions and simple activities to explore what wellbeing looks like. The same priorities kept surfacing – affordable housing, living costs, access to physical and mental health care, and a diverse economy. Growth pressures, climate change and protecting local character were also key concerns.
Five years later we went to the community a second time to discover what was important to them, this time in the big district-wide Community Survey 2026. Growth pressures, including traffic issues, were now top of the list of concerns. The cost of living and housing affordability, urban design and development, and wastewater treatment were also concerns. We will use these findings to help decide what projects we will work on in the future.
