Latest news with #Councils
Scoop
30-06-2025
- Climate
- Scoop
Wheeled Excavator Programme Clears The Way For Safer Roads In Hurunui
Press Release – Hurunui District Council Water is the biggest enemy of the roading network, said Councils Chief Operations Officer Dan Harris. The wheeled excavator programme is helping to move water away from our roads as quickly as possible, making a real difference to road safety and … A new 'light-touch' initiative to improve roadside drainage across Hurunui District is already proving its worth, with 150 kilometres of roadside cleared in just the first month of Council's wheeled excavator programme. 'Water is the biggest enemy of the roading network,' said Council's Chief Operations Officer Dan Harris. 'The wheeled excavator programme is helping to move water away from our roads as quickly as possible, making a real difference to road safety and road quality.' 'It's a smart, light-touch approach,' said Council's Roading Manager Charlie Hutt. 'We're opening up culvert ends, getting water moving and making note of the roads needing a little more.' Hutt said the work often occurs where large-scale drainage work would have been too costly or disruptive. Two wheeled diggers are employed to carry out the roadside drainage improvements, reshaping and clearing culverts, removing trees and opening up blocked drainage channels. Each digger is accompanied by a spotter, armed with a shovel and a sharp eye, ensuring targeted, efficient maintenance. Councillor Robbie Bruerton, Chair of the Operations Committee, described the initiative as a 'good piece of work, done the right way.' 'The biggest complaints we were getting were about drainage and road deterioration.' The programme had tackled those issues, with real cost savings, Bruerton said. The programme follows a trial undertaken in 2023, with an additional pilot carried out in 2024 around well-known hot spots in the district that were prone to flooding. Hutt said these previously problem areas were performing well, even after recent rain. Funding for the current and next two financial years has been budgeted for in the Long Term Plan. Part of a further year will be funded by Resilience Improvements money granted by Waka Kotahi NZTA, on Council's Vulnerable Roads. Mayor Marie Black welcomed the success of the trial. 'This is a great example of innovation and partnership delivering better outcomes for our communities.'
Scoop
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Northland Councils Explore Collaborative Opportunities For Water Service Delivery
Press Release – Whangarei District Council The Coalition Governments Local Water Done Well programme has been established to address Aotearoas long-standing water infrastructure challenges. Northland's District Councils have each heard feedback from their communities on the future of water services delivery, and established a cross-Council working group to work through what collaboration across Councils could look like. The Coalition Government's 'Local Water Done Well' programme has been established to address Aotearoa's long-standing water infrastructure challenges. It empowers Councils to decide how they will deliver water services, while meeting increased regulations, supporting growth and being financially sustainable. It encourages Councils to work with neighbouring districts on solutions that could benefit the larger region. Mayor of Whangārei and Chair of the newly established 'Northland Water Services Working Group', Vince Cocurullo said, 'Each Council has now completed formal consultation with the community where options were proposed for how drinking, waste and storm water services should be delivered in the future.' Consultations indicated that in Whangārei there was a clear preference for keeping its water services in-house with increased collaboration with the other Northland Councils, while Kaipara's results were in favour of a Northland Council Controlled Organisation (CCO), and Far North showed preference for a strengthened in-house model with improvements to delivery, governance, compliance and financial management. 'While options and preferences in each district vary, all of us are committed to getting around the table and evaluating the opportunities of working together and solving some of the challenges we all experience,' said Mayor Cocurullo. The Northland Water Services Working Group is made up of elected members from each Council, supported by their staff. Representatives from the Department of Internal Affairs and an independent advisor will attend each meeting, and the working group will make recommendations to each Council for decision making later this year. 'Whangārei, Kaipara and Far North District Councils have been working together to model the financials for a Northland CCO so that option could be included for consultation,' said Mayor Cocurullo. 'All three District Councils are committed to ensuring the long-term sustainability, efficiency and regulatory compliance of water services in Northland. With the community's feedback, we are able to do further investigations on collaborative opportunities, such as the viability of shared or managed services, or a Northland CCO.' Each District Council is required to submit their water service delivery plan to Central Government before 3 September 2025. More information about Local Water Done Well and the results of each Council's consultation can be found below. Notes
Scoop
05-06-2025
- General
- Scoop
New Library For Cannons Creek Gets Go-Ahead
Press Release – Porirua City Council The new building, to be placed on Bedford Reserve, near Cannons Creek Pool, will cost $4 million. Funding comes from already existing budgets within Councils 2024-34 Long-term Plan. A new library to be built in Cannons Creek in Porirua in the next two years is being hailed by the Mayor and city councillors as a facility current and future generations will be proud to call their own. The new building, to be placed on Bedford Reserve, near Cannons Creek Pool, will cost $4 million. Funding comes from already existing budgets within Council's 2024-34 Long-term Plan. A report to Council's Te Puna Kōrero meeting on Thursday outlined safety concerns about the current library, which is located alongside other shops, including instances where staff have had to secure the building due to disorder happening outside. The Cannons Creek Library, established in 1985 after taking over a former draper's shop, is 'difficult to secure safely', the report says. Despite this, it is a vibrant community space that has school visits and has become a thriving after-school spot, has a public computer hub and is a drop-in place for people to connect and relax. It also has a NZ Post box. The report also notes the ageing 1960s building has a leaky roof, limited natural light and heating, inadequate staff areas and not enough seating or study space. The building next door is potentially earthquake-prone and a seismic assessment of the library building is due in September this year. Mayor Anita Baker said a new library was critical for the suburb and will create a better environment for library staff and visitors. 'We've had unsafe actions out on the street that have come into the library itself,' she said. 'This is overdue for our community and something our people have wanted for a long time.' Cr Geoff Hayward said this was not just about upgrading a building, but 'preparing a waka for the journey ahead'. 'This is a gift, a vessel of learning, open to all,' he said. 'This community that has been waiting patiently for a facility that reflects its wairua, its mana and future. A new library is saying 'Cannons Creek matters'.' The library will be built with modular technology, meaning it will constructed in a factory and transported to the site, and can be added to or enlarged in the future if required. It will also have new computers for the public to use. Originally, $20 million was set aside for a community hub in Cannons Creek in the 2018-38 Long-term Plan, but agreeing to the $4 million proposal and bringing the project forward was supported by Mayor Baker and councillors. The community will be consulted during the design stage of the project.
Scoop
05-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Porirua City Council Makes Budget Decisions
Press Release – Porirua City Council The Councils Te Puna Krero committee met this morning to deliberate on the Annual Plan, which sets the citys budget for the coming financial year. After listening to feedback from residents Porirua City Council has made changes to next year's budget, including not increasing paid parking charges in the city or Cannons Creek pool entry fees. The Council's Te Puna Kōrero committee met this morning to deliberate on the Annual Plan, which sets the city's budget for the coming financial year. When preparing the draft Annual Plan, the starting point for this year's rates increases had increased from the planned 10 per cent to 15 per cent, due to cost pressures. Council acknowledged this wasn't sustainable for households and businesses, so took a hard look at internal operations to find cost savings. This process brought the new starting point for the average rates increase down to 6.75 per cent. Council consulted on five options, which if adopted would decrease the rates increase even further. A total of 343 submissions were received, with a mix of opinions on the items on the table. Committee Chair Councillor Ross Leggett thanked everyone who made submissions and shared their thoughts. 'Your feedback is shown in this paper and we do read and appreciate all of it,' he said. Of the options consulted on, the committee voted to discontinue the Chamber of Commerce grant and increase Council's building consent hourly rate. They voted against increasing the paid parking hourly rate, putting up Cannons Creek Pool entry fees, and discontinuing the Event Investment Programme. With these changes, the average rates increase for residential properties for the 2025/26 year will be 6.39 per cent, subject to confirmation by the full Council on 26 June. Mayor Anita Baker said everything possible was done to keep rates increases as low as possible. 'Nobody wants the big increases we saw last year and we know the community is struggling. The organisation has done a deep dive internally and made significant cuts that got us to a lower starting point than planned. 'In terms of the further cuts we could have made, we asked for feedback and we've listened to our people. That's why we are not supporting some of the ideas that were on the table.' Councillors spoke about the community benefits of swimming pools, the life that events bring to the city, and the need to support local businesses through keeping parking charges as they are.
Scoop
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
‘Government Plans To Destroy The Last Remaining Wetlands'
Press Release – Coromandel Watchdog of Hauraki Coromandel Watchdog of Hauraki says the Government announcement on replacing the RMA and undermining Councils oversight of the environment is a commitment to vandalism. Coromandel Watchdog of Hauraki says the Government announcement on replacing the Resource Management Act (RMA) and undermining Councils oversight of the environment is a commitment to vandalism. 'The whole announcement is a disaster, but the mining example takes the cake. They say that wetlands will be open to mining and quarrying even though 90% of wetlands have already been destroyed by destructive land management,' says Watchdog Chairperson Catherine Delahunty. 'Its so extraordinarily reckless and out of touch, they are drunk with power and immune to reason. So much hard work on farms, coasts and public land has gone into protecting the 10% of wetlands left because of their key role they play in water quality improvement by filtering out pollutants, reducing flood risks and providing vital habitats for fish breeding and homes for many other diverse plants and animals. Wetlands sequester carbon which would be reason enough not to mine them. Our country signed onto the RAMSAR intergovernmental treaty, a Convention committing us to the wise use of wetlands and we have to report on how we are protecting them, especially those of international significance. Is the Government abandoning that commitment?' 'I do not know what is driving this new attack on the environment, greed seems obvious, but surely the Government can see the economic value in wetlands. It is not the 1950s and we know that we need to protect every wetland left in the country as well as needing to create more. Mining will neither create permanent jobs nor pay for public services. It is a tiny part of the economy, mostly gold and coal and the gold will go offshore while leaving toxic waste behind. Coal is a greenhouse gas we must leave in the ground. It seems the plan is to shut out Te Tiriti, iwi and public participation in decisions and then set rules that facilitate vandalism towards fresh water and other habitat like wetlands, it is beyond stupid.'
