Bay of Plenty Regional Council staff are now processing submissions received on its Long Term Plan Consultation Document, with more than 200 received for councillors to consider.

Corporate performance general manager Mat Taylor thanks everyone who came along to the events that were held across the region during the past four weeks, and all those that have taken the time to make a submission.

He says staff are now going through the submissions and planning for the public hearings phase, when members of the public would present their submissions to the council.

'We've had a great response to the questions we asked, with the majority commenting on the options for our consultation topics. The next stage will be going through the comments made in detail, and then hearing what is said and this will be important for councillors and staff.”

During the consultation period staff attended more than 20 events, and spoke to more than 1000 members of the community about the proposed plan.

'Overall, we had some pretty clear messages of support for the work that the Regional Council does, and the submissions will give us some very useful feedback about our work and what is and isn't a priority for our communities."

Hearings will now be held from April 16-20 at venues across the region, with deliberations scheduled for 22-24 May. The final plan must be adopted by 30 June. More information about the Long Term Plan process is available on the Regional Council's website www.boprc.govt.nz/ltp.