Our 2024-2034 Long Term Plan is locked in: We’re facing our big challenges head on
At our Council meeting on Thursday 27 June, we adopted 2024-2034 Long Term Plan (LTP), locking in our district’s budgets, projects and services over the coming decade, and adopting our key strategic and policy documents and our Schedule of Fees and Charges.
Our Council has committed to investing $744.7 million in roading, water services, coastal protection and other essential assets, facilities and services in the Coromandel over the next 10 years.
The largest portion of spending on physical works (known as capex) has been provided for roading, with $245.4 million budgeted over the next 10 years to repair and improve our roads. We’ve also budgeted $92.7 million coastal protection works around the district over the coming decade.
“This is a huge milestone, and one we can all be proud of,” says our Mayor Len Salt “A huge thank you to everyone who took time to share their thoughts, support and concerns with us during the feedback process.
“There were many great ideas and strong proposals and ideally, we’d be able to financially support them all. We’ve decided to add a small number of projects to our original proposals, but we’ve also looked at what we can remove from the first year of our plan to offset that.”
While Council adopted our 2024-2034 Long Term Plan today, the final document won’t be available until early next week once the signed auditor’s opinion has been included.
Other Council meeting business
Our Council deliberated and made decisions on a number of other issues:
In response to the Chief Ombudsman’s investigation into local council meetings and workshops – Open for Business - our Council decided to retain the status quo. Workshops and briefings will continue to be closed to the public because they are for elected member training and upskilling and to receive briefings from staff. No decisions are made. Decision making is done in public meetings unless there's a reason specified in legislation for public exclusion, such as commercial sensitivity.
Read the report to Council.
Our Council endorsed staff feedback on a number of central government consultations, including:
- Māori Wards Bill
- Fisheries New Zealand
- Water Services Preliminary Arrangements Bill
- International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy
- Resource Management (Extended Duration of Coastal Permits for Marine Farms) Amendment Bill
- Inquiry into Climate Adaptation
Read the report to Council.
Our biennial Community Service Awards will take place this year. Council adopted the eligibility criteria and nomination form. Nominations will open from Friday 26 July to Friday 23 August. Our Community Boards will be updated in their July round of meetings and will review the nominations and select two recipients from each Board area. Award presentations will be made at each Board meeting during the October round of meetings. We’ll be calling for nominations from the public once the nomination period opens on 26 July.
Read the report to Council.
Our Council approved our submission to the Ministry of Transport on the draft Land Transport Rule: Setting of Speed Limits 2024.
Read the report to Council.
Whakanuia te Paki o Matariki
The Matariki public holiday is tomorrow - Friday 28 June. The best time to observe the stars of Matariki is from Saturday 29 to Saturday 6 July.
Kua tau mai a Matariki, Matariki tāpuapua, Matariki ahunga nui, nāna ngā kai i ao ake ki runga.
Matariki has arrived, Matariki of the pooling waters, Matariki provider of plentiful food, Matariki has scooped up all of the food.
Matariki Pare Hauraki | Thames-Coromandel
Matariki is the Māori name for the well-known star cluster of Pleaides. When this star cluster rises in the Māori month of Pipiri (June-July) this is a sign to many Māori (but not all) of the new year.
In Pare Hauraki | Thames-Coromandel we believe there to be only seven stars in the Matariki cluster.
Also, in Pare Hauraki, we speak about stars in the same manner we would people. Matariki is a wahine, a woman, and a mother. The six other stars in the cluster are referred to as her children.
There are Matariki events around the Coromandel. Find out more here.
Our Council and Matariki
Rubbish and Recycling: The only kerbside collection area affected by the Matariki public holiday on Friday 28 June is Pāuanui. Pāuanui’s red week rubbish and food scraps will be collected this week on Saturday 29 June.
The week after Matariki, the usual yellow week schedule for recycling bins, glass crates and food waste will resume.
Check out your calendars at www.tcdc.govt.nz/bindays or pick up a copy of the schedule for your area from your nearest Council office.
Note that Rubbish and Recycling Transfer Stations (RTS) will remain open as usual (from 8.30am-4.30pm) on Friday 28 June.
Please note that on Thursday 4 July Whitianga RTS will close early, at 1pm, for roading repairs.
Council Offices and Libraries: All Council offices and Libraries will be closed on Friday 28 June. Our 24-hour helpline will be available for urgent queries at 07 868 0200 and any non-urgent requests can be sent to our team at customer.services@tcdc.govt.nz.
Thames Centennial Pool: The pool is closed for the public holiday tomorrow and open on Saturday and Sunday as usual from 10am-5pm.
Matariki beach bonfire safety message
Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) has put out some safety messages around the tradition of Matariki Mahuika Ahi (bonfires).
If it’s your first time lighting a fire to mark the appearance of Matariki, or you need a refresher, check out the FENZ advice at www.checkitsalright.nz/reduce-your-risk, where you can find out if you need a permit.
FENZ asks that you avoid setting off fireworks as part of Matariki celebrations. Matariki is a time of remembrance, reflection, and renewal. Let the stars of the Matariki cluster be the visual display in the skies.
Also:
• If the fire danger level is Very High or Extreme, consider postponing your fire.
• Make sure your Matariki Mahuika Ahi (bonfire) is well away from buildings, fences, and anything else that can catch fire, like driftwood.
• Use dry, untreated wood for the fire, never plastics, tyres, or other material.
• The fire should be no higher than two metres or wider than three metres.
• Keep a way to put out your fire within easy reach, such as a shovel, bucket of water, fire extinguisher, or hose.
• Never leave the fire unattended. Make sure at least one person stays with your fire at all times.
• Always extinguish your fire with lots of water. Push the embers around to make sure the fire is completely out before leaving as hot embers can burn other beach users.
Click here for more advice
Representation Review 2024
Have a say on our Representation Review Initial Proposal
Following our Council's decision on 31 October 2023 to establish at least one Māori Ward, we began a review of representation for the 2025 local election. This process is called a Representation Review and it will come into effect for our October 2025 local body elections.
The preliminary feedback in March 2024 was the first part of a process seeking community input on representation. Our Council has considered the input received from that survey, explored options, and agreed to an initial proposal in June. We are keen to hear from our communities to understand how you feel about our initial proposal.
Public feedback is open until Friday 2 August.
We're asking for your thoughts on our initial proposal for:
• an additional councillor to reflect the introduction of a Māori Ward; and
• a minor boundary change between the South East General Ward and Thames General Ward, and the Tairua-Pāuanui Community Board and Thames Community Board to better reflect communities of interest. The area of Neavesville is accessed via one road from the western side of the district. It's considered that the constituents of Neavesville better identify with the Thames General Ward and Thames Community Board area, than with the South East General Ward and Tairua-Pāuanui Community Board area.
What's next?
Read more and give your feedback here
Download a hard copy of the feedback form
Thames protection options presented to public
Concept designs to protect the Thames foreshore were presented at a public meeting in the Thames town hall this week.
The protection of Thames is a high priority for our district, after the Shoreline Management project showed that $1 billion in assets in the township are at risk over the long-term from hazards associated with sea-level rise.
At the public meeting, project consultant Royal HaskoningDHV shared staged design options for each section of the structure. The default design option along the stretch of foreshore is for stopbanks or bunds. In some sections, such as behind Pak’n’Save where space is limited, vertical concrete walls are the preferred option.
“We’re designing for sea-level rise of half a metre to protect Thames against a one in one-hundred-year storm. This level of storm is becoming more frequent along this coastline, and puts Thames at significant risk of flooding,” says Sian John from RoyalHaskoningDHV.
A governance group, chaired by our Mayor Len Salt, is overseeing the Thames protection work in partnership with tangata whenua Ngāti Maru and Waikato Regional Council.
As well as managing risk to Thames, the project also creates room for opportunities, our Council’s project manager Amon Martin told the meeting.
“Creating bunds along this section of the foreshore will allow us to improve the coastal walkway,” he says. “We’re also staying open to other types of soft structure ideas like oyster islands and shell banks on the ocean side to offer another layer of protection and create habitat for seabirds.”
A good turnout of community members attended the meeting, where questions were asked about the height, longevity, cost and alignment of protection structures. They were told that the next stage in the project is for detailed design work which includes cost estimates, and funding proposals. At this stage, it’s anticipated that at least half the cost of the infrastructure will need to be funded by central agencies, with construction to begin in around five years’ time.
Also present were District Councillors Robyn Sinclair, Peter Revell and Martin Rodley, Councillor Warren Maher from Waikato Regional Council, Rob Johnston and Kishan Raikwar from the Thames Community Board, and owner of Thames Pak’n’Save Matt Heap.
“I like the fact we have a plan, something to start with. Having foresight in a project like this is very important for business confidence, so I’m pleased to see action after so much talk over the years,” Matt Heap told the meeting.
Funding for the current phase of design work is allocated through 2024-2034 Long Term Plan. Once detailed design is complete, options for construction funding will be presented for further community feedback.
To review the basis for design (proposed design heights and staging approach) and give feedback on options and alignments, visit the Thames Protection and Resilience page on our website or email Karen.Moffatt-McLeod@tcdc.govt.nz
Final phase rollout of Community Resilience Kits
The Coroglen Tavern hosted the final phase rollout of “The Coromandel Community Resilience Project” yesterday.
Community Response delegates from Coroglen, Otama, Onemana and Opoutere gathered to receive their resilience kits, training, and valuable networking.
Each kit contains a variety of equipment, co-designed by each community, to support the initial response for residents immediately after a significant event has occurred.
In total, 36 resilience kits have been delivered to communities across the Coromandel, just 16 months on from Cyclone Gabrielle.
“It’s been a massive logistical job to get this done but so worth it,” says Pam Balt our Council's Emergency & Community Resilience Co-ordinator.
“The enthusiasm and support from communities to build more local resilience capability, means that next time we have a significant weather event we all have much better resources to stay connected,” says Pam.