Kerbside upgrade begins, project updates, and news on Cathedral Cove
Published on 01 September 2023
The latest from Mayor Len
We’re really starting to get stuck into developing our our Council's next Long Term Plan
Wait, before you nod off or scroll down for other updates, consider this: the Long Term Plan (LTP) sets the direction our Council will be heading in the next 10 years and beyond and provides a long-term focus for decision making.
The LTP helps us answer questions such as: “What facilities and amenities should we be providing? What can we afford?”
As a Council, we ask for the participation and feedback of our staff, elected members, iwi, other partners including government agencies, ratepayers and local communities, and decide on the best way to prioritise and fund them.
What have we done so far?
At our recent Council meeting on 8 August, we endorsed our new LTP vision statement and key priorities, which are central to the LTP process. These determine the community outcomes we want for our district and provide a long-term focus for our decisions and how we allocate our resources.
The new vision we decided on: The Coromandel – live, work and play.
And our key priorities:
- A collaborative district
- A vibrant and safe district
- A connected and resilient district
- A district with sustainable services and infrastructure.
Our Community Boards have also begun to discuss the priorities for their areas – what projects and facilities do they see their communities needing? Council is doing the same thing for the entire district. These discussions now will help shape what we propose for the draft LTP.
We know that this coming LTP will be focused on recovery from the extreme weather earlier this year and building resilience into the infrastructure and facilities our Council provides, as well as enabling that same recovery and resilience in our communities.
We’ll be seeking more of your informal involvement in the coming months, ahead of asking for formal public feedback on our main proposals in March-April next year. There are many exciting opportunities ahead to help shape our future together.
Kerbside upgrade begins next week
After many months of planning and preparation for our Council’s staff and contractors, the start of the new rubbish and recycling contract with Waste Management NZ is finally here.
From today, all seven of our Refuse and Recycling Transfer Stations will be open seven days a week – no more mid-week closures for the smaller transfer stations and longer opening hours for all of them.
Household food scraps will be collected weekly. Wheelie rubbish bins with more than twice the capacity of the old pre-paid blue Council bags will be collected fortnightly, with Pay as You Throw tags required to be attached to bins as payment (check out our expanded list of retailers). Collections take place on a two-week system: red weeks for rubbish wheelie bins and food scraps and yellow weeks for mixed recycling, glass crates and food scraps. All the information about these services can be found at www.tcdc.govt.nz/newkerbside
This has been a huge project for many Council staff as well as our contractors’ staff. Thank you to everyone involved for their hard work. We’d also like to recognise all of our communities for their patience and support throughout the transition. Thank you also to the outgoing contractor Smart Environmental Ltd for their services to Council over the past ten years.
New bin rollout – missed deliveries
Our contractors will be working all weekend to deliver recycling and food waste bins to properties that were missed in the scheduled deliveries. They are prioritising areas with collection days earlier in the week. Catch-up deliveries started on Thursday around Whangamatā, Mercury Bay South and Whitianga.
Our contractors assure us that 97% of properties have had their bins delivered. We apologise to people who missed out on their bins earlier in August. The trucks have had to keep to a tight schedule of deliveries and are redelivering at the end of the schedule, rather than doubling back at the time to missed properties.
If your bin has been missed, please make sure that you contact our Customer Services Team. Please don’t contact us more than once – we have your details and you will be on the schedule for redeliveries.
For more information, visit www.tcdc.govt.nz/newkerbside
Shoreline Management Pathways Project — September information meetings
The three-year Shoreline Management Pathways Project identified our Coromandel communities’ preferred pathways of action to improve resilience to the effects of climate change.
The next steps involve prioritising and implementing projects from those pathways. Our Council is hosting a series of meetings to share the latest thinking and next steps.
Public meetings are scheduled for:
• Te
Puru Hall, 10am Saturday 2 September
• Tairua Hall, 12.10pm, Saturday 16 September
• Whitianga Town Hall, 2pm Saturday 16 September
Further meetings are being planned for Thames, Moanataiari and Tararū South. We'll update you with those dates as soon as they're confirmed.
For more information on this project, visit:
https://www.tcdc.govt.nz/smp. If you have specific questions, please email ourcoast@tcdc.govt.nz.
Funding approved for tourism-related infrastructure on the Coromandel
Our Council has been approved for funding totalling more than $2.6 million from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Tourism Infrastructure Fund for new and upgraded toilets, the new Whangamatā motor caravan dump station, and pathways, beach accessways and beach stairs in Mercury Bay.
Receiving the funding is conditional on resource consents and other necessary approvals being obtained for the various projects.
“This funding significantly reduces the capital cost of tourism-related infrastructure in some of our most heavily visited areas,” says our Deputy Mayor Terry Walker. “It will also help offset the cost of repairing some facilities damaged by the cyclones earlier this year and and make them more resilient to extreme weather.”
“Our Coromandel economy is heavily reliant on visitors from outside the district and our ratepayers who don't live here year-round, and we anticipate visitor numbers rising again this summer and especially after March next year, once SH25A has reopened. This funding will help us keep up with the demand,” says Deputy Mayor Terry.
The funding is for:
New and upgraded toilets - $2,206,132
- Coromandel Town – new, at the Ride Coromandel Bike Park
- Waikawau, Thames Coast – replacement
- Kōpū – new, at the boat ramp being constructed
- Matarangi – upgraded
- Whitianga – upgraded, at Buffalo Beach
- Tairua – upgraded, at Cory Park Domain
- Whangamatā – upgraded, at Port Road
Whangamatā Dump Station – $169,500
- To replace the Martyn Road dump station and relocate to Lindsay Road.
Shared pathways, beach accessways, and beach stairs in several Mercury Bay locations - $302,500
Many of these projects were already planned, but this funding will allow the work to take place sooner than originally scheduled and with less impact on ratepayers.
The government’s announcement this morning of the funding is round seven of the Tourism Infrastructure Fund, which totals $14.3 million nationwide. The funding round is focused on investing in projects repairing infrastructure impacted by recent extreme weather events and improving future resilience.
Project updates from around the region
The Coromandel Hub | Te Pūtahi Whaiora
After many years of planning and fundraising, the vision of providing a centre for community and social services in Coromandel Town and the Upper North came to fruition in 2023.
Our Council has been working with Coromandel Independent Living Trust (CILT) since 2018 to purchase land to build a community centre, with a Deed of Grant signed in 2019.
The Coromandel Hub, Te Pūtahi Whaiora, is now ready for occupation. The 395-square-metre building includes CILT offices, shared workspaces, meeting rooms, tourism amenities and office space for other service providers.
The Hub is designed as an accessible, inclusive facility aimed at improving the quantity and quality of services provided to the community in the Upper Coromandel. It is a practical and flexible home for social and government services and community groups, and a place where groups providing these services can share resources and spaces.
The front desk will continue to be the first stop for the public wanting to access support and a wide range of social and wellbeing services. This purpose-built facility will also ensure further development and sustainability of service delivery for the community into the future. A period of fine weather is just needed to complete the parking before CILT can finally move in.
Click here to find out more about this project.
New water treatment plant opens in Whangamatā
A brand-new water treatment plant was opened at Moana Point in Whangamatā last week.
Deputy Mayor Terry Walker was present to officially open the plant which has been built to help keep up with increased water treatment demands during our busiest summer months.
This plant is fitted with the latest technology and methodologies for treating our water including Evoca-supplied membrane units, new filtration, dosing and monitoring equipment. This ensures our drinking water quality complies with the current NZ Drinking Water standards.
This new water treatment plant is number eight of 10 in our Drinking Water Standards Upgrade project and follows the completion of plants at Onemana, Tairua, Pāuanui, Whitianga, Coromandel Town and Whangamatā (Beverley Hills and Wentworth Valley).
The programme for the remaining water treatment plant upgrades in Hahei and Matarangi will be completed in 2024.
An additional water treatment plant will be built in the Puriri area and is expected to be completed in 2024/25.
Click here to read more about this project.
Kōpū Marine Servicing and Business Precinct
There’s been considerable progress in the last few weeks with the work on the commercial slipway and recreational boat ramp at Kōpū.
Heron is continuing to remove the cofferdam from the recreational boat ramp area ready for installation around the commercial slipway. Land + Sea Civil will then be able to move in and complete the rock placement around the perimeter of the ramp and abutment.
The crane pad area has been built up and compacted to meet quality standards.
Land + Sea Civil will now be progressing with the revetment construction. They will also be working closely with Heron on the installation of the slipway sheet piling and the removal of the timber fenders from the existing slipway.
www.tcdc.govt.nz/kopu
The latest on Council Roads
Closure: Woods Road South, Colville, Friday 8 September
Our contractors need to undertake tree removals on Woods Road South, Colville from houses 24–52 (location shown below).The road will be closed from 9am–5pm.
Residents and visitors will be able to drive through the area between 12pm–12:30pm. We appreciate your patience while this work is carried out.
Check road and highway conditions at www.tcdc.govt.nz/roads
On this page you can also see a list of our 28 priority sites for cyclone repair/reinstatement. At www.tcdc.govt.nz/roadrepairsFAQs you can find answers to questions about how road repairs after storms are prioritised and funded.
For state highways, check Waka Kotahi NZTA's Journey Planner: journeys.nzta.govt.nz
More rockfall at Cathedral Cove
The Department of Conservation has advised that more rocks and debris have fallen from Cathedral Cove’s famous arch, re-emphasising the risk to visitors at the beach.
DOC Coromandel Operations Manager Nick Kelly says his team was alerted to the latest rockfall at the beach – which is thought to have occurred on Monday 28 August – after it was spotted by one of the local commercial boat operators.
It is the latest in a series of rockfalls and landslides around the cove and its adjacent bays, which were heavily impacted by last summer’s extreme weather events, including Cyclone Gabrielle.
Nick Kelly says although DOC has closed tracks to the beach, his staff are aware people continue to disregard warnings and are putting themselves at risk by venturing to the cove on foot.
“We’re really concerned people are not heeding the warnings,” he says. “We’ve consistently said the tracks are closed and there is a danger of rockfall at the beach which could lead to injury."
“I can’t stress this enough – please do not use the tracks, and do not stand or walk under the arch.”
Earlier this month, DOC announced it had received a Landslide Risk Assessment Report for the site. After reviewing the report, and setting it against its own visitor safety framework, it announced damaged tracks would not be reinstated this summer.
Landing at the cove from the adjacent Te Whanganui a Hei Marine Reserve can resume in coming weeks and is currently being worked through.
DOC staff are in the process of decommissioning the toilets on the Cathedral Cove beach and is finalising signage to clearly warn of the rockfall risk and urge people to stay away from the arch and the cliff faces which dominate the cove.
Click here to find out more about plans for Cathedral Cove.
Time to Connect with Chorus
The team from Chorus is coming to the Coromandel next week to chat with people in Thames, Tairua and Whitianga about their phone and internet connections, with drop-in sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The sessions are at the:
• Thames Workingmen’s Club, between 3pm and 5pm on Tuesday 5 September
• Pepe Café in Tairua, between 10.30am and 12.00pm on Wednesday 6 September
• Mercury Bay Club in Whitianga between 3pm and 5pm on Wednesday 6 September
Working with Thames-Coromandel District Council, Chorus has built an ultrafast broadband fibre network in many of the district’s towns and villages, bringing a level of connectivity that rivals major centres.
With faster and more resilient fibre connections available, Chorus is now looking to retire the older copper network. The programme of copper withdrawal has been active in larger centres for over two years and is managed to ensure people are given lots of notice and nobody is left without a connection.
The copper network is only being retired in areas that already have a fibre network. Although at this stage the programme has only included some areas of the larger towns it will eventually progress to include all areas currently provided with fibre over the next few years.
Letters have been sent to the residents affected, and the events are an opportunity for them to come and discuss the next steps with Chorus as well as any other questions. Where fibre is available, there is usually no cost to install fibre, and if people are ready the ordering process can be started at the events. People can also order the connection through their phone company or at the Chorus website.
More information can be found at www.chorus.co.nz if people are unable to make it to the events. Questions can also be emailed to communityrelations@chorus.co.nz.
Hauraki Gulf Bottom Fishing Access Zones Consultation
The government has just released its proposed options for trawl areas in the Hauraki Gulf. The consultation is open until 6 November.
Right now, 27% of the HGMP is protected from trawling, these options would see that rise to around 70% for the most permissive to 85% for the most restrictive.
Click here to find out more and have your say on the proposed options.
Hauraki Gulf Marine Protection Bill moves to Select Committee phase
This week the Hauraki Gulf Marine Protection Bill had its first reading and was unanimously referred to the Environment Select Committee with the support of all parties in the House. The Bill will receive a full consultation period (timing to be determined) during which anyone can have a say.
Last week to apply for Creative Communities funding
Our Council is welcoming applications to the Creative Communities fund. This year there's also a one-off Festival Fund to support local events.
Backed by Creative New Zealand, the Creative Communities Scheme aims to increase participation in the arts. Successful local applications have included local theatre productions, bringing leading musicians to perform locally, and the creation of school murals. Click here to read more and apply.
About the Creative Communities Festival Fund
The CCS Festival Fund is a one-off funding boost from Government, to support established festivals that celebrate the life experiences, stories, cultures, and regional identities of New Zealanders, that continue to be impacted by the effects of COVID-19 in 2023. Click here to read more about this fund.
Applications are due on Friday 8 September 2023. Send completed applications and questions to governance.services@tcdc.govt.nz.
Community hui – an arts facility for Te Whanganui o Hei | Mercury Bay
He Mana Toi Moehau Trust | Creative Coromandel and the Te Whanganui o Hei Arts Facility Steering Committee are holding community hui next week to consult with those interested in the possibility of a local community arts facility.
They are currently investigating the community’s needs, options, opportunities and best short- and long-term solutions for a publicly owned arts facility for Te Whanganui o Hei | Mercury Bay.
An independent feasibility study is underway, seeking information through consultation with Ngāti Hei, local government, local arts practitioners, schools, community organisations, arts groups and organisations, and the local community.
The hui are scheduled for:
Tairua/Pāuanui/Whangamatā
Wednesday 6 September, Tairua Golf Club
• 3pm–5pm
Whitianga
Thursday 7 September at the Whitianga Town Hall.
• 9.15am–11.15am
• 4.30pm–6.15pm
The feasibility study will also explore the viability of a Whitianga-based facility serving the communities of the wards of Tairua/Pauanui and Whangamatā, as the arts sector in these communities have expressed the need for a readily useable arts space too.
Visit Creativecoromandel.co.nz
What's on this September
Coromandel Artbeat Spring Festival
There are so many ways to celebrate our creative communities this spring. Creative Coromandel/He Mana Toi Moehau Trust have created a new arts festival: The Coromandel Artbeat Spring Festival.
Kicking off today (Friday 1 September), the programme features exhibitions, workshops, open studios, performances and arts demonstrations happening around the Coromandel Peninsula.
They're encouraging locals and visitors to "explore a diverse range of creative activities, take a scenic journey off-the-beaten-track, immerse yourself in artistic experiences and be inspired meeting the people creating work you will love". Check out the full festival programme at coromandelartbeat.nz.
Whitianga Oceans Festival
Indulge in The Coromandel's finest seafood with celebrity chefs, great food and drinks, and a music lineup for all grooves and moves on the two stages this year. It's back better than ever. Visit www.oceansfestival.co.nz
Community Board Meetings
Our Council's next round of Community Board Meetings begin on 11 September withTairua-Pāuanui. Our next Council meeting is on Tuesday 19 September. Click here to see the full list of meetings.www.tcdc.govt.nz/meetings
Budgeting workshops with Thames Budget Service
Balancing everyday family life and money can be tough. The Thames Community Centre is working with Thames Budget Service to give people some practical skills to get control of their money.
Learn about spending habits, financial position, budgeting, debt management, and Kiwisaver. Get the skills to run your budget the way you want to.
The Centre is offering four free weekly 'Money Mates' sessions of one hour, at the Thames Community Centre, 609 Mackay St. These will be held from 2pm–3pm on:
• Wednesday 13 September
• Wednesday 20 September
• Wednesday 27 September
• Wednesday 4 October
Visit thamescommunitycentre.org.
Community Dune Planting in Whangamatā
There's a Coastcare community planting day is coming up in Whangamatā on Saturday 23 September, 10am, meeting at beach access 17.
Digging in the sand is quite easy and you'll be doing your bit for our native plants and animals.
All you need to bring is covered sturdy footwear, water, suitable clothing, gardening gloves and your favourite spade (or you can borrow one of ours). Visit www.tcdc.govt.nz/dunes or follow Save the Dunes Whangamatā on Facebook.
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori is taking place from 11-17 Hepetema (September). The theme is Kia Kaha Te Reo Māori – making the language stronger will continue this year. This year all of Aotearoa is invited to celebrate te reo Māori at 12pm, on 14 September.
You can kōrero (speak), waiata (sing), pānui (read) and more. Whatever you do, do it in te reo Māori. This marks the very moment the Māori Language Petition was presented to Parliament in 1972, on the first Māori Language Day. Three years later, it became what we now know as Te Wiki o te Reo Māori.
Join Aotearoa in taking a moment for te reo Māori as we acknowledge the past, celebrate the present, and prepare for the future. Tairua Library also hold a Te Reo conversation group for those at an intermediate level who would like to practice.
Click here to find resources to support you on your Te Reo journey. Visit reomaori.co.nz.
Whangamatā Run Walk Festival
The Whangamatā Half Marathon is back on Saturday 23 September and includes the 21km half marathon, plus 10km and 5km events, all in a scenic location. Visit whangamatahalfmarathon.co.nz.
Clean Up Week: Whitianga
Clean Up Week is coming up in September, with local organisations coming together to keep our region beautiful. Local environmental group Wāhi Tukurua are hosting a clean-up event at Buffalo Beach Reserve on Saturday 16 September from 9.30am.
Meet at the Buffalo Beach Reserve at 9.30am before heading off and clean up your piece of Whitianga. Then return to the reserve with your rubbish where the team will weigh and get rid of it for you. Afterwards you can stay and enjoy some hot soup (remember your keep cup) and the chance to win some spot prizes.
Click here to view the Facebook event, or visit Wāhitukurua.co.nz.
Opportunities at our Council
We offer a range of career opportunities at our Council, with roles to suit a diverse range of expertise. Our current vacancies include:
Temporary Technical Support Officer – Parks & Open Spaces
This role will provide support and administration assistance in the areas of activity management and project contract management to the Community Facilities team. This position is for a full-time, 12-month fixed term role.
Senior Resource Consent Planner
As a Senior Planner this role undertakes assessment of the more complex resource consent applications and related management of environmental planning. You will provide mentoring to colleagues and support to the Development Planning Team Leader.
Customer Services Representative – Thames Office
We are searching for a confident, motivated customer services star to bring their skills and enthusiasm to a great team delivering customer services in our Thames office. The role sits within the team providing front-of-house, digital and phone communications, and is part of the wider Customer Services team across the district.
Adoptable Dogs
Pono
This handsome young boy is a Huntaway cross and an entire male. He's a fun-loving guy who loves to hang out and play. He knows some commands, is house trained, and would be a perfect walking or running buddy. He can get quite excited as he loves company and would suit a high energy owner.
Chilled puppy
This 6- to 8-month-old male puppy is very quiet and chilled that loves playing with people or sleeping beside you. He also loves cuddles when he gets to know you. Although he's small now, he's going to be a big boy.
Tan and white dog
This sweet fun-loving dog is very social. He loves to play and keep you company.
If you’re interested in adopting a dog, please phone our customer services team on 07 868 0200. Once your interest is known a Dog Control Officer will be in contact with you to discuss the adoption and carry out the appropriate checks. This may include a visit to your property.
We also send this update as an email each Friday. To receive it, visit www.tcdc.govt.nz/subscribe