Plans are still being drawn up for a mixed development by social housing agency Kāinga Ora for the vacant site on the corner of King and Stewart Sts. Photo / Troy Baker
Plans are still being drawn up for a mixed development by social housing agency Kāinga Ora for the vacant site on the corner of King and Stewart Sts. Photo / Troy Baker
Kāinga Ora – keep watching this space
Since demolition of the former supermarket building in Kopeopeo was completed in October, Whakatāne residents have been waiting with interest for signs of building work to start on Kāinga Ora - Homes and Communities’ new apartment buildings.
The apartments are expected to provide housing for about 50 families, as well as commercial space for the shopping centre.
The only movement seen since demolition finished on the site on the corner of King and Stewarts St was when the fencing that ensures the 0.6-hectare site is safe was removed and then replaced, fuelling rumours that the apartments were no longer going to be built.
Kāinga Ora Bay of Plenty regional director Darren Toy said the agency still planned to build on the land.
“We are still committed to building on this well-located land, to help meet the housing need for Whakatāne whānau most in need of a home.
“Demolition works have been completed, and the site fencing, which was mistakenly removed, has been reinstalled to ensure the site is safe and secure.”
Toy had previously been reported in the Whakatāne Beacon as saying building was expected to begin mid-2023.
He said Kāinga Ora was continuing to investigate options around the mix of apartments, houses and offices and other commercial spaces.
“Currently, we’re exploring the consenting and planning landscape for a significant mixed development like this, in this part of the city. While this planning stage is taking us a little longer, we want to make sure we get things right, and the development is suitable for both those who will live and work there, as well as for the wider community.
“Alongside it needing to sit well on the whenua and connect to the space around it, we also need to ensure we’re making the most of the development potential of this prime land.
“We’re working on a face-to-face opportunity in May, where we’ll share progress on this and other developments in Whakatāne, and people can speak with us and have any questions answered.”
Council to hand out fines for litter
Whakatāne District Council now has the ability to issue a $200 or $400 fine for litterbugs.
At last week’s full council meeting, councillors voted to implement an infringement regime for illegally dumped rubbish.
Local councils are allowed to issue fines of up to $400 under the Litter Act 1979, however, it requires the council to resolve to adopt an infringement regime.
Until now, the only powers council officers in Whakatāne had to penalise people for fly-tipping was to file charges through the district court. While this could result in a fine of up to $5000, it took up staff time and legal expenses, making it suitable only for the most serious offences.
At a meeting of the council’s infrastructure and planning committee last month, a blanket fine of $200 was suggested to committee members.
Fly tipping, such as this rubbish which was deposited in dunes at Ōhope earlier this month, can now attract a $200 fine plus clean-up costs if the culprit is caught. Photo / Diane McCarthy
During the discussion, it was suggested that a larger fine be made available to staff for repeat offenders or for larger-scale offences.
A report to councillors at last Thursday’s meeting pointed out the many administrative difficulties of issuing fines based on the nature or volume of the material being dumped, including having to weigh the material and the extra responsibility it would place on compliance officers.
It also said, in addition to the fine, if someone was caught dumping rubbish, they could also be charged with the costs of clean-up, including transfer station fees.
A larger fine for a repeat offender was much easier to distinguish.
A $200 fine for a first offence, whether litter is deposited in a public or a private place without the owner’s consent, was recommended and voted for by councillors, along with a $400 fine for a second offence.
A $200 fine could also be issued for failure to comply with an officer’s direction to clean up litter.
Mill Rd intersection pencilled in for highway plans
Waka Kotahi - NZ Transport Agency has listened to pleas from the community and has included a roundabout at the Mill Rd intersection in its draft plans for State Highway 30.
A team from Waka Kotahi, headed by Bay of Plenty director of regional relationships David Speirs, spent two days last week listening to the concerns and ideas from the public about proposed safety improvements to the highway between Awakeri and Whakatāne.
Halfway through the second day of the engagement sessions, Speirs said they had already spoken to upwards of 150 people and received more than 300 pieces of feedback.
“One of the things I’ve been most happy with is that we’ve had a really good cross-section of people. Everything from agricultural contractors to heavy vehicle users, motorcyclists and road cyclists, to mum and dad picking the kids up at school at 3pm. We’ve had quite a few visits from emergency services; Fire and Emergency New Zealand, ambulance, and such.
“In that cross-section of people, we have also had a cross-section of opinion from ‘I will never believe in this’, to ‘I am actually open minded’.”
Large-scale laminated maps spread out around Awakeri Event Centre on Thursday and Gateway Theatre, Whakatāne on Friday, displayed the proposed safety measures the agency hopes to have funding confirmed for early next year.
Waka Kotahi Bay of Plenty director of regional relationships David Speirs has plenty of suggestions to consider for the State Highway 30 safety improvements. Photo / Diane McCarthy
The engagement team encouraged people to place sticky notes on specific areas they wanted to give feedback on. The maps were covered with notes - detailed descriptions of people’s issues; hand-drawn intersection designs; terse statements such as “this won’t work” or “not needed”.
Speirs said an addition to the original plan of a roundabout at Mill Rd had received the most positive feedback. This had come about through previous engagement meetings with the council, road user groups and businesses and residents adjacent to the highway.
“What we’d been hearing from people was that [Mill Road] was a significant cause of concern. It was a place where there were not so many actual crashes, but a lot of near misses that could go very badly. [It is] also an area of focus for a lot of businesses who are growing.
“It has addressed a concern that a lot of people have, but also, it’s demonstrated to people that when they tell us about an issue we are going away and having a rethink.”
He said Waka Kotahi would also be open to the Shaw Rd intersection connecting to the proposed Mill Rd roundabout.
However, that would be something the district council would need to consult with the community about as it would require some local investment, including a new crossing over the Kopeopeo Canal.
“That’s not a concrete proposal at the moment, but it’s an idea,” he said.
Speirs said the most polarising aspect of the safety measures was the median barrier. Concerns included dairy farmers needing to cross the road with stock, farm vehicles not being able to pull over to allow vehicles to pass, and emergency vehicles not being able to reach people with life-threatening conditions in time.
“We had area commander Stuart Nightingale from New Zealand Police here yesterday, so we’ve been able to have really good, detailed conversations with them about how we could manage an environment with what’s been designed and where their specific design concerns are.”
Speirs said the area commander’s feedback had been constructive, showing areas where the police would require road-widening.
A number of people had provided positive feedback about the installation of median barriers. These were mostly people who had experienced near-miss incidents in the past with vehicles crossing the centre line.
He said the most useful part of the engagement days was that the team received a lot of very specific feedback.
“People were able to identify individual stretches where they’ve got a concern about this particular driveway, or this particular piece of road or this bridge or whatever. So, we’re able to have a really constructive conversation with those people.
“Our purpose here for these two days is to listen to people. We are going to hear what their specific issues are, and we’re going to go away and see what we can do to address those.”
