Representation Review survey, Community Board highlights and more news

Published on 01 March 2024

The latest from Mayor Len

Today we've had great news from Conservation Minister Tama Potaka that reinstating walking access to Cathedral Cove before next summer was a priority. 

We welcome this commitment to have a safe track open. The announcement is a testament to the concerted effort put in by our community, including business operators, to make their voices heard in Wellington. 

Minister Potaka said he expects to have received options for reinstating the track by the end of June, and assuming there is a safe option, to see the work underway ahead of summer.

In the meantime, the track to Cathedral Cove is not safe for visitors. There are still rockfall and land movement challenges at the site. In conjunction with Ngāti Hei and local operators, the Department of Conservation has created alternative visitor experiences in and around Hāhei near Cathedral Cove that provide access to cultural heritage sites and offer views over the stunning coastline of this area.

Information is on the DOC website.

Have your say – Representation Review 2024 

Our Council is reviewing how our local communities are represented. This is called a Representation Review and it will come into effect for our October 2025 local body elections. We are keen to hear from our communities to understand how you feel about some key parts of Council’s structure.

At its 31 October 2023 meeting, our Council unanimously voted to establish one or more Māori Wards for the 2025 Local Elections. This is what has triggered the representation review process, to make sure our communities are fairly and effectively represented at Council. The review does not revisit the decision to establish Māori Wards.

This survey will help us to understand how our communities feel about key aspects of our current representation structure. Your feedback will help to inform our proposal, which will go out for formal consultation later this year. The survey will be open until Sunday March 31 2024. Everyone who completes the survey will go in the draw to win one of two $100 Prezzy Cards.

Next week, you will also be able to pick up a hard copy from our Council offices, District Libraries, or download one here. If you have any questions, feel free to email repreview@tcdc.govt.nz.  

This week wrapped up the latest round of Community Board meetings across the district. All the Boards were updated on the progress of the draft Long Term Plan, which we'll be asking for public feedback on from 8 March to 8 April. More information on this is below. You can find the meeting agendas and reports here, and you can catch up on the meetings by watching the recordings, which are on our @ourcoromandel YouTube channel.

Highlights from last week's Thames Community Board meeting are here.

The Community Board meetings are always followed a week later by a Council meeting - next week's is on Tuesday 5 March. The agenda and reports are at tcdc.govt.nz/meetings. 

Tairua-Pāuanui Community Board – Monday 19 February

Apart from being updated on the LTP, the Board discussed the local capex work programme. Highlights include:

• Pāuanui Holland stream improvements: Works on the left bank of Holland Close have been completed. The consent application for on-going maintenance and for the Mount Avenue stormwater network upgrade have been granted by Waikato Regional Council. The Board have requested a briefing around timelines for this work.
• Tairua Skatepark: An opening date has tentatively been booked in for mid-April this year. This is a tight turn-around that the contractors are working hard to achieve. Landscaping will be completed in June, the best planting period.
• The resealing of Royal Billy Point carpark took place last week and was successfully completed.  
• The Board raised on-going issues with the quality of mowing on parks and reserves in the area. It was suggested that residents contact Council through a Request for Service (RFS) with any complaints around this issue. You can do so at www.tcdc.govt.nz/rfs 

Whangamatā Community Board – Tuesday 20 February

The board received the timeline for the draft 2024-2034 Long Term Plan (LTP). 

Mercury Bay Community Board – Wednesday 28 February 

The full meeting agenda is on our website.

The Board approved a funding request of $2,900 from the Mercury Bay Museum for a virtual reality education application. This would allow the museum to make 3D scans of items in the museum collection which are deemed too precious or fragile to be displayed within the museum building. Youth will be among the first to benefit through the musuem’s ongoing education outreach programmes. 

Work on the water supply strategy for Whitianga is progressing. The strategy has three areas: reducing consumer water use, improving water network efficiency by identifying leaks and repairing them, and a longer-term approach of increasing supply. The first two build on existing work programmes with some new options that can be implemented or started in the short to medium term (within five years) to reduce water demand and improve resilience. Once we’ve had time to gauge results of the first two strategic areas (reduce and improve) then work can begin on the longer-term focus of increasing supply, which is estimated to be required within the next 10-15 years.   

The Board also received an update on the capital works programme for the area.  

• The Brophys Beach geotextile bag coastal protection has been repaired from the damage sustained in the storms of January and February 2023. Our Council is awaiting consent approval from Waikato Regional Council for an extension to the existing seawall at Buffalo Beach. This is taking some time, as the existing structure as well as the planned extension must be included in the consent.  
• The review of the new Whitianga Refuse Transfer Station project has identified savings. An application for funding has been made to the Ministry for the Environment (MfE). The next steps are to complete the detailed design and lodge consents, both planned for this financial year.  
• Recent upgrades to the Matarangi wastewater treatment plant have expanded its capacity in order to meet short- and medium-term growth in demand. Additional aerators have been installed and are operational. The membrane bioreactor installed for trial is operational. Upgraded power cabling has been installed and will be connected soon between the Powerco transformer and the plant’s control cabinet. A resource consent application has been lodged with Waikato Regional Council for the ongoing discharge from the treatment plant that will cater for expected growth in the longer term. We are awaiting a date for hearings on the application. 
• Land acquisition needed in order to upgrade Matarangi’s drinking water treatment plant as part of our Drinking Water Standards upgrade programme has been slower than anticipated and has delayed this project a bit. The team will continue to progress this work. 

Submit on Waikato Regional Council's draft Waikato Regional Land Transport Plan

The draft Waikato Regional Land Transport Plan 2024–2054 (RLTP) is open for consultation so residents, businesses and community groups can submit feedback to Waikato Regional Council, and the deadline for submissions closes Monday 4 March.

The RLTP is updated every three years and it sets out how the Waikato region’s land transport system will develop over the next 30 years.

The Regional Transport Committee, made up of representatives from Waikato’s regional, city and district councils, Waka Kotahi and KiwiRail, develops the plan to create a regional consensus of our priority work and projects.

Waikato Regional Council would like to know your views on a range of questions about the RLTP, including:

• Do you agree with the high-level vision and objectives for land transport in the Waikato region?
• Have the most pressing transport issues facing the region been identified?
• Are the strategic land transport priorities right?
• Will the strategic policy templates in section 3 of the RLTP deliver on the vision and objectives?
• Do the prioritised significant transport activities reflect the strategic transport priorities and outcomes we are seeking for land transport in the Waikato region?

There is a significant sum proposed for the Coromandel's roading network to build resilience to weather events and climate change.

Submissions close at 5pm on Monday, 4 March 2024.

The project is in its final phases, nearing completion for opening in May 2024. 

Work on the marine structures was completed this week, so Heron Construction and Land + Sea Civil have demobilised from site. 

Commercial wharf  

The fendering systems have been fixed to all the fender piles, the concrete deck poured, and the handrails and wharf fixtures (bollards, cleats etc) have been installed to the commercial wharf. Only the services (lighting, CCTV, water) remain to be fitted.  

The wharf’s floating pontoon has been put in place and has been sandblasted with a culturally significant design provided by Ngāti Maru. The gangway to the floating pontoon has been installed.  

The two large fender piles have been installed adjacent to the bulk freight slipway to assist with the manoeuvrability of the Kapua barge.  

The barge is scheduled to be removed during the first week of March 2024 to coincide with suitable tides. 

Commercial slipway  

The commercial slipway catwalk has been installed, with the steel access steps to be fitted next month following fabrication by local supplier, Kopu Engineering.  

The scour protection / rock revetment tie-ins to the slipway and wharf have been made, which completes all rock works on site.  

King Street works 

Fulton Hogan are progressing works on the new access road (King Street), with the installation of utility services and kerb and channel preparation.  

Precinct pavement works 

Fulton Hogan are also progressing with service trenching within the precinct area. New pavement materials will be brought in over the next few weeks to bring the pavement up to design levels. 

Quay Street widening 

The Quay Street entrance to the facility is being widened with the installation of new culverts.   

Please note that during the culvert construction works, which will be undertaken in March, all traffic including boat ramp trailers will be diverted via the King Street entrance to provide access to the existing boat ramp.  

View the project page

Waiotahi Road, Thames, to be temporarily closed 

Work on a retaining wall will require Waiotahi Road in Thames to be temporarily closed. 

The closures are expected from 11-15 March (weather permitting) from 7am-5pm. 

Residents will have access to their properties during this time but there may be delays of about five minutes. 

Emergency vehicles will have access if required. 

The green section of road indicated on the map is where the work is taking place. 

Thanks for your understanding and patience while this work is completed. 

State Highway 25A - Overnight closure coming up 

SH25A will be closed overnight on Wednesday 6 March to allow NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi contractors to carry out some final works at the new bridge on SH25A Taparahi.

The closure is needed so a new rubber seal can be installed into one of the bridge joints which runs across the full width of the road. At the same time they will install grates on the side drains along the eastern road approach.

The work is being done overnight to minimise disruption to road users, with the road closing from 9.30pm on Wednesday 6 March until 5.00 am on Thursday 7 March. 

Detours will be via SH25 along the Thames Coast and Coromandel Town or via SH26/SH2/SH25 through the Karangahake Gorge, Waihi and Whangamatā. Access for local traffic along SH25A will be maintained up to the bridge from both the east and west.

Work to finish the restoration of SH25A at the Taparahi worksite is expected to be completed by the end of March. 

Emergency management tracks well ahead of service target 

Our Council’s emergency management unit is tracking well ahead of its community response plan target in our half-year performance report.  

This unit focuses on preparing our staff and communities to respond to, and recover from, civil defence emergencies. A key service delivery target is to maintain and review 10 community response plans every year. As of half-way through the 2023/24 financial year, 15 communities have already been visited, and their community response plans created or reviewed and updated.  

Why do we monitor our service delivery?

Each year, we monitor our service delivery across the financial year as part of the requirements of our 2021-2031 Long Term Plan. We’ve set benchmarks to monitor and measure how well we’re delivering the many services we provide for our communities, such as water services, roading, solid waste, community spaces and emergency management. This allows us to identify and correct any performance issues that may arise and keeps us accountable to our communities. 

Our current reporting period covers two quarters from 1 July 2023 to 31 December 2023. We combined the first two quarters of the financial year due to delays in the audit of our 2022/23 Annual Report. 

Key highlights

Rubbish & Recycling: 

• The introduction of our new rubbish bins and food scraps collection services saw a slight increase in justified complaints that kerbside collections were not completed on the scheduled collection day. The new services were introduced in September 2023 last year, and some time was required for the new contractor’s staff to learn routes and familiarise themselves with collection areas. We’re confident collection services will continue to improve throughout the remainder of this financial year.  
• There were 266 kilograms of waste per property disposed of to landfill in quarters one and two. We had a busy summer and we expect the amount of waste delivered to landfill to increase per property in quarter three.

Overall:  

More information: 

For more information on how we are progressing in our service delivery, read the full report here.

Thames-Coromandel District Plan Operative in Part

Our District Plan will become 'operative in part' from 15 March, which means that all provisions are operative, apart from several that are still being contested. 

The Thames-Coromandel District Plan 'Operative in Part' is available here.

Free cycle skills courses  

Learn how to stay safe on your bike and ride with confidence on the roads. Come along to one of our free cycle skills courses – there’s one in Thames on Thursday 11 April 9am-1pm.  

The course will also teach you how to check your bike for safety. You'll need a roadworthy bike and an approved helmet to take part.  

To register, contact our Council on 07 868 0200 or email customer.services@tcdc.govt.nz.  

Opportunities at our Council

Our current job vacancies are: 

At our Council we ensure work-life balance is not just a dream but a reality. We offer an array of staff benefits including; flexible work arrangements, relocation allowance, free parking, sick leave on commencement of employment and more. 

Adoptable dogs