Reserve Management Plan Review Process
All reserves that have been gazetted and classified as reserves under the Reserves Act require a Reserve Management Plan to be prepared for their management and development (Section 41(1)). Once a Reserve Management Plan is adopted, the Reserves Act (Section 41(4)) requires that the Plan needs to be subject to continuous review to address new issues and opportunities as they arise for each reserve.
The process for preparing a Reserve Management Plan begins with Council publicly advertising its intention to prepare a Reserve Management Plan for an identified reserve or group of reserves. This triggers the beginning of an informal consultation process where the public are invited to provide comments and suggestions for how Council's parks and open spaces should be managed now and in the future. Although the Reserves Act sets out a prescribed process, there is some flexibility around how Council engages with the community during this stage of the process.
Council, under Section 41(5A), does have the ability to resolve that written suggestions on the proposed plan would not materially assist the preparation and bypass this part of the process. Council will typically hold a series of public meetings or open days to enable members of the community to discuss ideas with Council officers. Written suggestions and discussions during this phase inform the drafting of the Reserve Management Plan.
Following the preparation and public notification of the draft Reserve Management Plan, the formal consultation phase commences. Public submissions are received and summarised by Council officers.
Following the close of the submissions period, a Council hearing is held to consider the submissions, and submitters can have the opportunity to speak to their submission. A final Reserve Management Plan incorporating decisions from the hearing is prepared and the finalised Reserve Management Plan is adopted.
The finalised Reserve Management Plan is submitted to the Minister of Conservation for approval. This concludes the Reserve Management Plan Review process.
