Christchurch City Council is setting up a new group to “provide advice on how to engage with residents on issues that are important for the whole city.”

It follows council’s approving rating released in May which hit a 13-year low, with residents upset at the state of the city’s roads, chlorine in the water, and on-street parking in the central city and near the hospital.

In a council statement it says “The Residents’ Forum, which would have between 30 and 50 members “will be established to help the Council better understand how and why residents get involved in the decision-making process, and what are the barriers stopping people from having their say.”

Councillor Sara Templeton says “the forum is being set up in response to feedback in the Annual Plan and the 2020 Residents’ Survey that showed some people don’t feel they are able to have an impact on decisions that affect their future.”

Recently, council voted in favour to increase rates more than what they proposed to the public, despite an overwhelming majority of residents saying increasing rates was the worst thing to do while residents struggle with the economic fallout of Covid19.

But the council isn’t in a hurry to form this group.

The forum will be established at the start of next year.