A number of upcoming Western Bay of Plenty community board meetings will be offering virtual attendance options to the community while in the red traffic light setting.

The decision to offer fully virtual, or hybrid virtual and physical meetings was made to provide the community with options to suit them.

"By providing different options for hosting our meetings we can keep the community board's kōrero flowing and ensure everyone who wants to be heard can be, while feeling safe," says Western Bay of Plenty District Council Customer Service and Governance Manager, Barbara Whitton.

"We're fortunate to have technology at our fingertips that gives us an accessible alternative for those that want it."

Anyone wanting to watch a virtual community board meeting live can do so via Council's YouTube channel youtube.com/wbopdc

If you'd like to attend a meeting virtually or in-person (where applicable) please register with our team ([email protected]) ahead of time.

If you're attending in-person you'll need to provide your vaccination pass, and if you're attending virtually it's as simple as following the Zoom links provided at the listed meeting time westernbay.govt.nz/community-board-meetings

The first community board meetings to go virtual take place in the first week of February - Katikati (2 Feb), Ōmokoroa (8 Feb) and Te Puke (10 Feb). The Waihī Beach community board will use a hybrid format of virtual and in-person (21 Feb), and a decision on Maketu (15 Feb) is yet to be made.

For meeting details see our website at westernbay.govt.nz/community-board-meetings