Our weekly wrap up: Elections, projects, events and more

Monday 29 September 2025

• Te Rerenga School, 9am – 11am
• Kūaotunu Hall, 12pm – 2pm
• Pāuanui Hub, 10am – 12pm
• Tuesday 30 September 2025
• Whenuakite School—10am - 2pm

Thursday 2 October

• Colville Hall, 9am – 11am
• Kennedy Bay (Te Kura Kaupapa o Heretaunga), 12:30pm - 2pm

Saturday 27 September (National Voting Day)

• Our three Thames-Coromandel District library branches - Thames Library, Mercury Bay Library, and Tairua Library, 9am – 12pm.

Council received an annual report outlining the work of the District’s Information Centres located in Coromandel Town, Whitianga, Tairua, Pāuanui, Whangamatā and Thames.

Council provides around $300,000 funding overall to the six centres to carry out vital work in their communities. The focus of each centre depends on the community it serves, with tourist information, local travel coordination and Council information being key parts of the mix.

Positive feedback was reported on the functioning of all the centres.

Here’s a snapshot from Council’s Annual Dog Control Report for 2024/25 (covering  July 2024 to 30 June 2025). There were 5,173 registered dogs across the district and 1,253 dog-related requests for service, which is consistent with previous years.

Council takes dog control incidents seriously, issuing 219 infringement notices and lodging three prosecutions with the District Court over the past year.

Our compliance team continues to patrol public spaces, respond quickly to incidents, and support responsible dog ownership through our annual Lead the Way campaign.

Council has given the greenlight on improving its request for service (RFS) system to achieve greater satisfaction for ratepayers and residents seeking action.

Work is underway to improve responses to customer requests and to keep people better informed about the progress of their requests.

A survey will be developed to find out how satisfied people who use the RFS system are with the response they get, focusing on:

• Timeliness
• Helpfulness
• Quality and reliability of information
• Ease of use
• Overall experience.

Council will use this data to draw up a baseline to measure how it can improve customer satisfaction year by year.

Council acknowledged that achieving 100 per cent customer satisfaction may not be possible, but improvements were the aim.

A brand-new two-pan toilet facility is being installed at Ōmaro Reserve, replacing the dated block and providing a much-needed upgrade for the community. The new facility will be connected to the town wastewater supply and power, making it more reliable and sustainable.

This project is funded by MBIE through the Tourism Infrastructure Fund, granted at the end of last year.

Please note, the current toilets will close from Sunday 21 September while works take place. A temporary portaloo will be available on-site during the estimated three-week construction period (weather dependent).

We know the timing isn’t ideal with school holidays around the corner, but unforeseen delays meant it wasn’t possible to avoid this overlap.

We appreciate the patience and understanding of the Matarangi community as we complete this important upgrade.

Work is about to begin on a new toilet facility on King Street, Kōpū, with construction starting Monday 22 September. This much-needed upgrade will support both boat ramp users and visitors enjoying the Hauraki Rail Trail.

The project is funded by MBIE through the Tourism Infrastructure Fund, granted at the end of last year.

The site will be fenced during construction, and at times traffic management will be in place. Please follow directions on site and respect our contractors to help keep everyone safe.

The new facility is expected to take around three weeks to complete (weather dependent).

Once finished, it will feature artwork by Ngāti Maru artist Rick Fisher.

Tararū Cemetery was temporarily closed this week while geotechnical teams carried out important work to improve land stability in the area.

The site is now reopened in time for the weekend, with work progressing on schedule.

Hydra-Care has started work to upgrade the drinking water main along Ngāti Maru Highway, with construction beginning on Wednesday, 17 September.

The project is expected to take around six weeks, starting from Deeble Road at the Thames end. Most of the work will take place on the road shoulder, causing minimal disruption at first. However, a lane closure will be required toward the end of the project.

• Duration: Approximately 6 weeks
• Location: Starting at Deeble Road (Thames end)
• Traffic Impact: Lane closure expected later in the project

Thank you for your patience as we carry out these essential upgrades.

Construction on the Hetherington Road stormwater upgrade began July, running from the Martyn Road/Port Road roundabout through to the causeway (Stage 1).

For safety, the Marina walkway was closed during works. The foopath concrete was poured yesterday, Thursday 18 September and is expected to re-open later this evening, Friday 19 September, just in time for the school holidays.

While some delays occurred due to electricity infrastructure issues, Stage 1 is nearing completion. Stage 2 will soon begin, covering the stretch from the Martyn Road roundabout to the Rutherford Road intersection (see map below). This section will be under a full-time lane closure, with access restricted to residents only.

So far, 180m of new pipe and five manholes have been installed, including a First Defense® High Capacity stormwater treatment system at the outfall. This advanced unit removes sediment, rubbish and hydrocarbons from stormwater, while preventing previously captured pollutants from being re-released.

We appreciate the patience and support of local residents as work continues outside their homes.

As we move into warmer weather, we’re undertaking our annual resealing programme.  

Our crews will be working hard over the next two months to undertake work needed to maintain our roads. Residents in affected areas will receive individual mail drops. 

Please note this is subject to weather and other unforeseen circumstances. We will update you on any changes. Apologies in advance for any delays this might cause you on your journeys.

For next week's programme see our website: tcdc.govt.nz/roads

The planting has been shifted to the afternoon so volunteers can also head along to the Meet the Candidates session in the morning.

Where: Meet at Beach Access 17 (off Tangaroa Road) 
When: 1pm, Saturday 27 September 

Join the Whangamatā Dune Protection Society and Coastcare Waikato for the final planting day of the season. Together we’ll be infill planting native spinifex and doing some light weeding along the dunes between Beach Access 11 and 18. Holes will be pre-dug, making it easy for everyone to get involved. Afterwards, enjoy a well-earned cuppa and a fresh scone for morning tea. 

What to bring: 

RSVP: info@whangadunes.org.nz or samantha.telfar@tcdc.govt.nz 

In case of bad weather, postponement details will be sent out via email and posted on Coastcare Waikato’s Facebook page (@CoastcareWaikato).