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Local Democracy Reporting
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Local Democracy Reporting - Latest News [Page 32]
Rotorua Lakes Council Draft Annual Plan Revisions Recommended By Committee
Tuesday, 30 June 2020, 4:17 pm | Felix Desmarais - Local Democracy Reporter
Rotorua Lakes Council draft Annual Plan revisions recommended by committee A general rates freeze and a 4 per cent targeted rates rise will soon be considered for Rotorua, following public feedback. The proposed targeted rates rise has dropped 0.7 per cent. ... More >>
Beachfront Residents Left In Dark Over Erosion Plan
Tuesday, 30 June 2020, 4:12 pm | Aaron van Delden - Local Democracy Reporter
Surging tides eroded several metres of land in front of three Wainui properties last September. Photo: Paul Rickard / The Gisborne Herald - single use only Wainui residents feel left in the dark over Gisborne District Council’s management of ... More >>
Watercare Earmarks $57.5m To Recommission Dam
Friday, 26 June 2020, 4:17 pm | Steve Forbes - Local Democracy Reporter
Watercare is planning to spend $57.5 million to recommission a mothballed dam in Hūnua to help in the fight against Auckland's water shortages. The Hays Creek Dam was built in 1967. It is the smallest of the Hūnua dams and was originally designed ... More >>
Tararua Rates Hike Slashed
Friday, 26 June 2020, 4:11 pm | Marcus Anselm - Local Democracy Reporter
Tararua District councillor Peter Johns said he hoped to see a focus on the regions as New Zealand recovers from the covid-19 lockdown. Representatives in the district, which covers parts of northern Wairarapa and inland Hawke’s Bay, confirmed an average ... More >>
Lessons Learned In ‘comedy Of Errors’ Toilet Project
Friday, 26 June 2020, 4:07 pm | Aaron van Delden - Local Democracy Reporter
Lessons have been learned through the beleaguered construction of a new $928,000 toilet block for Gisborne’s inner harbour, district council chief executive Nedine Thatcher Swann says. “No one wants to kind of say, ‘Well, yeah, this is our issue’ ... More >>
Three-year Battle Over South Auckland Nightclub’s Liquor Licence
Monday, 22 June 2020, 5:07 pm | Steve Forbes - Local Democracy Reporter
A group of Manukau business owners have been fighting for more than three years against a nightclub’s plans to renew its liquor license after a shooting and ongoing compaints about the behaviour of its patrons. The Vava’u Lahi Night Club in Manukau’s ... More >>
Survey Says Carterton Residents Not Getting Bang For Rates Buck
Monday, 22 June 2020, 4:49 pm | Marcus Anselm - Local Democracy Reporter
Almost two thirds of Carterton residents quizzed in a recent district survey said they did not feel they were getting value for money from the council. Carterton councillors and senior staffers will discuss ways to win back public sentiment at a meeting tomorrow. ... More >>
Rotorua Housing Strategy Promises To Enable ‘thousands’ Of Homes
Monday, 15 June 2020, 11:35 am | Felix Desmarais - Local Democracy Reporter
Thousands of new homes could be built in Rotorua as a result of a proposed new strategy for housing in the city. 1. The Housing and Thriving Communities Strategic Framework document. Photo / Felix Desmarais / LDR The draft strategy, created by the Rotorua ... More >>
Residents Fed Up With Freedom Campers, Says Councillor
Monday, 15 June 2020, 11:33 am | Aaron van Delden - Local Democracy Reporter
Kaiti Beach residents are fed up with freedom campers, says Gisborne district councillor Larry Foster. Gisborne District Council banned freedom camping in Marina Park last September after complaints about overcrowding and campers showering and washing dishes ... More >>
Ōtāhuhu Business Owners Fight Council Plans To Slash Funding For Town Centre Upgrade
Monday, 15 June 2020, 11:29 am | Steve Forbes - Local Democracy Reporter
A south Auckland business association is fighting council plans to delay the final stages of its town centre upgrade as part of budget cutbacks. Ōtāhuhu Business Association claims it now has over 2000 signatures on a petition it launched this ... More >>
New ‘regional Park’ Backed For Wairau River
Monday, 15 June 2020, 11:28 am | Chloe Ranford - Local Democracy Reporter
Marlborough Landscape Group members on a field trip earlier this year to scope out the Wairau River "regional park" proposal. CREDIT: SUPPLIED A new regional park alongside the Wairau River has been backed, with a councillor saying it was ... More >>
Counties Manukau DHB Battles Surgery Backlog
Thursday, 11 June 2020, 10:27 am | Steve Forbes - Local Democracy Reporter
Counties Manukau Health says it had to defer between 1400 and 1600 elective surgery operations due to Covid-19 and it is now looking at reducing the backlog with the much needed funding boost it received in last month’s budget. But according to ... More >>
Council Backtracks On Endeavour Models, Agrees To Consultation
Thursday, 11 June 2020, 10:26 am | Aaron van Delden - Local Democracy Reporter
“Talk to us — that’s the whole point,” said a protester at this morning’s extraordinary meeting of Gisborne district councillors as they voted unanimously to revoke their earlier decision to install models of James Cook’s Endeavour in ... More >>
Hotline Calls For Help With Food Most Common In Lockdown
Thursday, 11 June 2020, 10:23 am | Lois Williams - Local Democracy Reporter
Running out of food during the Covid-19 lockdown was the reason most Coasters called the civil defence hotline for help, it has emerged. West Coast Emergency Management director Claire Brown briefed the Regional Council yesterday on the work done over ... More >>
Northland Councils Should Support Kaipara’s Fight Against Auckland’s Dome Valley Landfill
Monday, 8 June 2020, 11:24 am | Susan Botting - Local Democracy Reporter
Northland local authorities should be working together to stop the multi-million dollar Dome Valley mega landfill, an opponent of the dump says. Michelle Carmichael, Fight the Tip, Save the Dome leader, said the proposed facility on more than 1000 ... More >>
Calls For Freedom Camp Site Closure After Tourists Intrude Residents’ Privacy
Monday, 8 June 2020, 11:15 am | Chloe Ranford - Local Democracy Reporter
Freedom campers have left residents in a Marlborough Sounds bay feeling "vulnerable" after years of defecating in their gardens, pinching their water and internet, and demanding to shower. Double Bay residents are calling for the Marlborough District ... More >>
‘It’s No Picnic In Picnic Bay’: Rural Resident Fights For Better Broadband Connectivity
Monday, 8 June 2020, 11:13 am | Chloe Ranford - Local Democracy Reporter
Internet access is "no picnic in Picnic Bay", in the Marlborough Sounds, with resident Chris Womersley using a lunchbox and water bottle to tap into a broadband tower after his dial-up was binned. Forty-five kilometres away, in Tuamarina, slow ... More >>
New $1.8 Million Wharf For Remote Pouto As Kaipara Harbour Wharves Project Takes Shape
Friday, 5 June 2020, 4:50 pm | Susan Botting - Local Democracy Reporter
A new $1.8 million wharf is to be built at remote Pouto as part of the Kaipara Harbour Wharves project. It will be the only new wharf in the unique $4.95 million Provincial Growth Fund-funded project. The wharf will be one of four initial developments in ... More >>
Coast Councils To Seek Govt Funding For SNA Work
Friday, 5 June 2020, 4:44 pm | Lois Williams - Local Democracy Reporter
The council team working on a combined district plan for the West Coast will ask the Government for funding to research significant natural areas (SNAs). The Te Tai Poutini One Plan Committee of council and iwi leaders is meeting regularly to thrash ... More >>
Council Aims To ‘buy Local’
Friday, 5 June 2020, 4:41 pm | Aaron van Delden - Local Democracy Reporter
Supporting the local economy is meant to be a key consideration for Gisborne District Council when it makes purchases. The council’s procurement policy in the past gave preference to local suppliers and businesses, as long as their prices were within ... More >>
