Locals encouraged to attend second Westport meeting

Media release

Consultation is underway for the Special Consultative Procedure on resetting the Westport Flood Protection Scheme (WFPS).

The first of two community information meetings was held last night in Westport and around 40 members of the public attended.

The second is Thursday 24 September 2026 at the NBS Theatre, Westport from 6:30pm–7:30pm.

Westport Flood Protection Scheme Project Manager Phil Rossiter says: “We thank the people who turned up last night and took the opportunity to gain a better understanding of what the options are and the bigger picture surrounding this consultation. We strongly encourage people to come along to Thursday’s meeting as it is a really useful snapshot of how the scheme has changed, what the proposed changes offers in terms of flood protection and some of the science behind that.”

“The 16-page Special Consultative Procedure document is full of the information people need to submit, but we feel it is really useful to talk through what all this means for the community, so we hope people feel comfortable coming along tomorrow night.”

For people who can’t make the next meeting, a recording of last night’s event can be found on the WCRC YouTube channel: Westport Flood Protection Scheme: Community Information Meetings

A PowerPoint of the presentations is also available on the Resilient Westport website (under Special Consultative Procedure).

Community drop-ins at the WCRC/Resilient Westport office (147 Palmerston Street, Westport) are held on Wednesdays between 11am and 1pm.

Online submissions can be made via www.wcrc.govt.nz/community/consultation