Queen's Birthday Long Weekend
What are your plans for the upcoming long weekend? With Queen’s Birthday falling on Monday 6 June, there are a couple of things you should know about.
Kerbside collections - Our Kerbside recycling and rubbish collections will be one day later following the Queen’s Birthday public holiday on Monday 6 June. tcdc.govt.nz/kerbside
Refuse Transfer Stations - Our Refuse Transfer Stations will be open to their Sunday hours for Monday Queen's Birthday and on Friday 24 June for the new Matariki public holiday. tcdc.govt.nz/rts
Our Council offices – Our Council offices in Coromandel Town, Whitianga, Whangamatā, and Thames will all be closed on Monday, however our 24-hour contact centre will remain open. You can contact the team on 07 868 0200.
Libraries – Our district librairies will be closed on Monday, but you’ll be able to get in on Saturday morning to secure your Queen’s Birthday reading. Our libraries will be back open to normal hours on Tuesday. tcdc.govt.nz/libraries
Weather - A mixed weather bag this long weekend on the Coromandel, says our Civil Defence Controller Garry Towler. Today and Saturday are expected to be largely clear with some cool showers - but rain is expected to return come Sunday and Monday. Please consider the weather when driving back from your long weekend destinations and take care. metservice.com for weather updates and check our Council's Facebook page for updates on any road closures from flooding or slips if they occur.
What will we do when the sea level rises?
The Shoreline Management Plan project team is preparing for another round of public meetings to finalise adaptation plans for sea level rise in our coastal communities.
The Plan will set the sea level rise thresholds that will trigger action in each community. It will also agree with the communities exactly what the action in their area should be. Among the adaptation options are raising floor levels, building up the hard defences, improving dune management and planting, or staging managed retreat from an area over time..
“The important thing to remember is that we will start doing these things as certain levels of sea level rise occur - regardless of what is causing that rise, or the rate at which it is happening,” says Project Manager Amon Martin.
“Whether the hazards to our communities are a result of coastal inundation, erosion, or land subsidence, once we reach the trigger points, we will have a clear plan of the action that our communities want us to take,” he says.
The SMP Project is being supported by consultants Royal Haskoning DHV, who have done detailed analysis of the available data.
“We're not making any assumptions about what is definitely going to happen, we’re saying if sea level rises then this is the planned approach to adapt to that. If it doesn’t happen, you might not need to implement those actions,” says Sian John from Royal Haskoning DHV.
To hear more from Sian and Amon, you can watch them explain the project in the video below.
To see a full schedule of the final round of SMP public meetings visit tcdc.govt.nz/smp.
We are All Go for Dog Rego
If you have a dog, it's time to renew its registration for 2022/23.
To help make the process as easy as possible, reminder letters should arrive in your letter box over the next few days. You have until 31 July to renew before the late penalty fee applies from 1 August.
The dog registration fee for the 2022/23 financial year is $85 for all dogs except guide dogs and dangerous dogs. Special rebates also apply to working dogs registered in groups larger than three.
The tag’s colour for the year is green, and this is your green light to get online or into a Council office to register your dog. You can find more information on how to update your information, renew dog registration, or register a new dog at tcdc.govt.nz/dogregistration.
Our condolences to any owners who may receive a renewal letter if their pet has recently passed away. You can let us know by giving us a call on 078680200 or emailing us at customer.services@tcdc.govt.nz.
For more information on dog registration and fees see: tcdc.govt.nz/dogregistration
FundingHQ workshops coming soon
If you’re a group or organisation that relies on external funding for your work in the community – read on to find out how you can diversify your range of funding.
We’ve partnered with Jenni Giblin from Funding HQ and will be hosting workshops around the district in July. Jenni has raised over $165 million for community projects throughout the country, and this is an exciting opportunity for groups and organisations around the Coromandel to become financially sustainable.
Before we lock in the workshops, we’d like to hear from you about the best times and places they should be held and what you’d like to get out of them. Let us know by filling out a quick survey here.
News from our Building Unit
Over recent years our cadetship programme has proved successful, bringing keen people into our Council and upskilling them to begin a career in building control.
We do this as nationally there is a general skills shortage within New Zealand's construction and building sector. Our Council wants to assist people who display the right attributes and who see opportunity and value in a building surveying career.
This year we've taken on three more cadets, all who live locally: Sian Teulon, Bradley Jackson and Riyan Rattan (below, left to right). All three are progressing well through their assignments and tasks which began in February.
New Non-Residential (Commercial) Building Consent Applications
To assist our commercial applicants, we're introducing Commercial Building Consent (Pre) Application Meetings.
The aim of these meetings is to reduce the number of Requests for Information (RFI) and provide a smoother, more personalised process for you. An added bonus could mean a faster lodged application and faster processing and granting timeframes.
We’re beginning (Pre) Application Meetings for Commercial Consent applications from 1 July 2022.
If you’re ready to apply, please follow these steps:
- Call 07 868 0200 to book an appointment. At this stage this will be via Microsoft Teams until we resume face-to-face meetings.
- At the meeting we will go through the Build Waikato commercial checklist with you so you have the correct and appropriate information.
- We will contact other departments in our Council who may need to participate.
- You will be given a list of items required.
- Once all information required is compiled you can lodge your consent through our customer portal in the Alpha Online system.
Our staff member who does the initial meeting with you will process your consent if possible, as we find creating that relationship up front is pretty important.
Earthquake Prone Building Update
By 1 July our Council will have notified those building owners who have a potentially earthquake prone building of their obligations to ensure their building is up to standard - this is within an identified priority route (400-772 Pollen St, Thames).
We're working collaboratively with these owners so they get the right assessments to bring any identified earthquake prone buildings up to the required standards within the specified timeframes.
If a building is determined to be earthquake prone, due to the overall rating, it does not necessarily mean the building is unsafe and unable to be used, it just means it’s less likely to perform as well as a new building in a moderate earthquake.
See more on the government's Building Performance website..
Does Your Site Need To Be Fenced?
The answer depends on the site location.
Part of the objective of site fencing requirements under the Building Code is to safeguard people from injury from construction or demolition site hazards. There is also a specific requirement to prevent unauthorised access by children.
So in our role we will be looking at:
- Specifying in your application how you will meet site fencing requirements, and
- Whether you are meeting these requirements as part of our inspections.
To receive our Coro Build e-newsletter with news and updates from our Building Control Unit, please email your details to vicki.kretzer@tcdc.govt.nz