The decisions were taken at meetings of the Otago Regional Council on Wednesday and the Dunedin City Council today.

As a result, staff from both organisations – who are partners in the SDF programme – will spend the next few months detailing the engineering option, which will then be included in public consultation material alongside the status quo and three options already outlined.

The decisions mean a revised consultation programme will be presented to both Councils later this year, before the public are consulted on the revised shortlist of options.

DCC Chief Executive Sandy Graham says the public will be able to have their say on all the options as part of the next stage of public consultation.

“Staff are here to carry out the work as determined by Councillors, and as a result of this week’s decisions we’ll be working as quickly as we can – in collaboration with our partners at the ORC – to deliver the updated information to support the revised shortlist options.

“It’s important the information we put to the community is robust, so they can have an informed say, Councillors can make good decisions, and the final result delivers the best possible outcome for South Dunedin.”

ORC Chief Executive Richard Saunders says “ORC’s councillors are committed to continuing to work with communities to look at the best options for the long-term challenges facing South Dunedin.”

Ms Graham says the decisions taken this week, and the additional work now required, may also cause delays to parts of the DCC’s 10 year plan budget process. This means meetings expected to be held in December may occur in the new year.

More information: South Dunedin Future - Dunedin City Council