District council wins award

The Southland District Council has won a top award at this year’s Local Government New Zealand awards.

On Monday, the council was awarded the Chorus Excellence Best Practice in Infrastructure Award for its programme titled ‘‘Changing Direction: The Way Forward for Southland’s Roads’’.

The project saw the council work with Fonterra to find where maintenance of the region’s road network was most needed.

Council Mayor Gary Tong said the programme stepped outside of the boundaries of a normal council project.

Southland has the second largest roading network in the country and faced pressure from increased economic activity, par- ticularly from the dairy industry.

The council and Fonterra used new technology, resource allocation tools and procurement methods to make smarter decisions on managing the district’s roads.

Data from the procurement methods allowed the council to prioritise work.

Tong said Fonterra sent information back to the council, allowing council to keep up with the condition of the roads.

‘‘Fonterra are our eyes and ears out on the road.’’

Tong said it was great to see the name of Fonterra recognised at the awards.

Council chief executive Steve Ruru said ‘‘[It’s] a good acknowledgement of the work that the team’s been doing and also that work that we’ve been doing with Fonterra at Edendale.’’

Ruru said they would continue to look at expanding the programme.

‘‘Particularly [to] build on that relationship with Fonterra, because they do cover such a large proportion of our network.’’

Judges described the programme as an innovative approach to improving the management of roading infrastructure.

LGNZ president Lawrence Yule said it was an excellent example of best practice management.

‘‘The council had to look for innovative ways to balance making the most effective investment decision,’’ he said.

‘‘This initiative is about delivering the best service and value for local businesses and residents.’’

Environment Southland was also a finalist for the LGNZ Fulton Hogan Award for Community Engagement, for their project ‘‘Towards a New Plan – Water and Land’’.

The approach developed a land and water plan with ideas and feedback from the community.

Tong said this year’s LGNZ conference, held in Dunedin, had very positive discussions.

‘‘We’re in a world of change and we’ve all got to keep up, and I think we are,’’ Tong said. for infrastructure