Big public interest in MCP meeting

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JULIA WADE

An unusually full gallery greeted Kaipara council recently who had gathered at Mangawhai Club for an extraordinary meeting and debriefing of the Mangawhai Community Plan (MCP).

The public turnout of 50-plus residents on July 1 appeared to surprise the mayor Dr Jason Smith, councillors and staff including CEO Louise Miller, with Smith commenting on how wonderful it was as ‘we usually only get about two people’. He also clarified the meeting was a debriefing to bring council ‘up to speed… no decisions will be made here’, and was also not a public discussion so questions from the floor will not be taken.

“The important thing though is that everyone is included in the work that is going on.”

Lead by GM Infrastructure Services manager Jim Sephton, the debrief was to seek funding approval from council’s 2020/21 financial year, so to proceed with the MCP, especially the next stages of the Village to Heads Shared Path, Wood Street Streetscape and Insley Street intersections.

Council heard the details of how the three elements have been developed through 2019-2020, with business cases and funding applications sent to NZTA for the shared path and Wood Street respectively, and ‘following extensive engagement with landowners and incorporation’, a design of Insley Street’s new layout has been completed.

A significant increase in subsidy, from $2.5m to $4.7m, is expected from the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF).

The main issue of contention for councillors was the request to use the Reserve Contribution (RC) as well as a reduction in loan/depreciation, to meet the $390,000 shortfall of local funds.

Along with questions from councillors Karen Joyce-Paki and Jonathan Larsen regarding how ratepayers will be financially affected, councillors Victoria del la Varis-Woodcock and Mark Vincent commented on the RC’s intended purpose.

“It is to offset the effects of development, for parks and reserves, to create green, restful spaces in what will become an urban environment over time,” del la Varis-Woodcock says. “It is not for transport and infrastructure.”

“Doesn’t quite pass the sniff test for me,” Vincent added. “However, wonder if we can be a bit clever about it and allocate the RC funds for the path going along Mangawhai park and the foreshore towards the surf club.”

General Manager of Sustainable Growth and Investment, Sue Davidson, responded saying according to policy, financial contributions of the RC can also be used for public amenity areas ‘and for giving the public access to coastal areas’.

“It’s not just about funding a footpath, it’s a shared path where people can cycle and walk instead of the goat track we currently have.”

The shared path also allows mobility scooter drivers to access parks and coastal areas.

Councillor Peter Wethey also asked about the time frame of creating the shared path, especially between Pearson Street and Mangawhai Activity Zone, which has been ‘a bone of contention for the community for many years’.

“We can’t keep holding back the busy period as Mangawhai is busy ten months of the year.”

Sephton replied saying development process cannot begin until funding is confirmed.

“That’s why this meeting is so important. There is huge interest in the project… and we are deliberately not wanting to do works at the same time as the developers working on Molesworth – just need to communicate and plan for when it’s safe to start,” he says. “Mangawhai is the fastest growing town in the North Island, best time to make improvements is before the traffic builds up any more.”

Tomarata footbridge and the empty fire station at the Heads were also discussed with Larsen asking for clearer details on project funding to be made available for the community.

The meeting ended with clarification by Sephton that staff will endeavour to keep the community ‘up to speed’ with more detailed consultation and direct engagement, especially for affected property owners of projects.

Minutes of the meeting are available on the KDC website for viewing.

MAIN POINTS · Village to Heads Shared Path – a Business Case has now been submitted to NZTA with signals that this is likely to be supported and will enable access to the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF). Priority sections have been confirmed and the alignment through Mangawhai Community Park confirmed with stakeholders. · Wood Street Revitalisation – Following the successful summer trial, the second stage has been developed and a funding application to NZTA under the Innovative Streets fund (90 per cent) contribution has been made. · Insley Street Intersections – The detailed design has been completed following extensive engagement with landowners and incorporation of the shared path within this section. The increased costs are primarily due to the incorporation of the shared path and this approach has been agreed with NZTA.

 

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