Author Archives: admin

Hutt CBD – Stop flogging a dead horse and move forward

Lower Hutt’s CBD – Where to from here?

With more businesses closing down or moving elsewhere from our CBD, we really need to have a long hard look at what we are doing and where to from here. Issues around High Street and the surrounding area have been around for a while now, and the longer we wait the more money we will waste with little, if any, progress.

In 2006 High Street and the surrounding area’s death warrant was expedited with the redevelopment of Westfield Queensgate. I say ‘expedited’ because High Street was already on the decline prior to Westfield. The issues that we currently face with Westfield being in play would have progressed eventually even without it. The proof is in the pudding – across the world ‘High Streets’ are dying or dead. We no longer live in the 1980’s when they were all the rage, and now need to refocus and invest in a new approach rather than flog a dead horse. Hundreds of thousands of ratepayer dollars on programmes and infrastructure to try and resuscitate High Street and the surrounding area has been spent since 2006 with no significant results. This money has been a waste.

So the big question – What should be our approach to bring people back to our CBD?

Let’s take a look at Petone.

I love it. Nearly as much as I love Wainuiomata. Jackson Street bars, cafes, restaurants, nightlife, the Petone Rec, the foreshore, the heritage, and most of all the vibrancy make Petone a great destination and attraction. One could fairly ask why keep throwing money at High Street in an effort to revitalise our CBD, when we could just jump on the boat and cruise with Petone?

This proposition has a lot of merit – but it would be the easy way out. One just has to remember what Petone was like 20 years ago – It was pretty undesirable. So what changed? We capitalised on Petone’s unique character. Residents alongside the business community and Council helped transform Petone into a unique experience. This is the key. This is what we need for our CBD.

We need to create a unique space which is seen as a destination by locals and visitors. Thankfully a vision on this front already exists – The Hutt River Promenade. For those who aren’t familiar take a look at the design next to this post. While some work is being completed on this front we need to be much more aggressive in making this happen. Currently thousands of dollars is still being poured into the High Street black hole – This needs to stop and be redirected towards the promenade vision.

Why the Promenade?

The Hutt River in my mind is one of the biggest assets we as a City hold. It’s our point of difference with other parts of the region, and we’ve turned our back on it. The promenade would encourage businesses, cafes, bars, apartment living and most importantly… people. The Hutt CBD would become a unique experience which cant be copied anywhere else in the region, and that’s excatly what people are attracted to.

Overall, a unique CBD experience viewed alongside the developments happening in our civic precinct would completely transform Lower Hutt as we know it. People will want to live, work, visit and spend in our CBD.

This won’t happen overnight – But the sooner we start the better.

Whats your thoughts? Do you have a different vision for Lower Hutt?

Let’s do something that will make a difference…

Leave a reply

What is Council’s role for empowering and supporting young people in our city?

This is a question I’ve struggled with for quite a while. One thing I am certain of – Council isn’t, and shouldn’t be a provider of ‘social service’ like programmes or activities for young people. We aren’t the experts in that field, and already have a number of fantastic organisations in our community providing such services that are much more connected with young people than us (Council).

Should our main contribution be funding a central youth ‘hang out’ space open to youth across the city? Yes and no. Currently Council funds Secret Level on High Street at a cost of $158k a year, SL has been around for 10 years + and has done a good job over the years. But has this hang out space really made a difference for young people in need? I’m sure for a few it has – But for most it hasn’t.

I believe that if we as a Council want to truly make a meaningful difference for young people then we must rethink and relook at how we operate. And in my view, education, employment and a sense of ownership by youth in our communities is the focus we need to take.

Education – Of course this is a focus and priority of central government, but as a Council we have so many great assets like our libraries, museums, art galleries, pools etc which could engage with young people more. They could become more ‘youth friendly’ spaces and work with schools and other education providers to get youth utilising these assets that we have on our doorstep. We could focus on getting parents and their kids into our libraries and other facilities – because the younger you start off the more likely you will be to use such facilities as you grow older. There are some great programmes like the ‘Reading Together’ initiative in our libraries, and our ‘Learn to Swim’ programme in our pools etc. – but we can still do more. Education is everything, and Council focus on this can make a big difference for youth across the board.

Employment – If you really want to make a difference for a young person out of study… Then find them a job. Give them an opportunity. Again, Council isn’t WINZ, and it shouldn’t be. But we can still make a big difference in this area given the position Council sits, and this has already been seen with the establishment of Youth Inspire (Mayors taskforce for Jobs) which focuses on getting disengaged young people into study or employment. This initiative came from the hard work and dedication of people in Wainuiomata who wanted to help make a difference – We as a Council then came on board to help fund the programme and get it on its feet (70k per annum). Since late last year 40+ young people in Wainuiomata who had fallen through the cracks have already been placed in further study or employment. That’s 40 young people who have been given a hand up and experienced a meaningful and positive change in their life. That’s what you call making a difference.

Sense of ownership by youth in our communities – One youth ‘hang out’ space for our entire city isn’t good enough. We should have them in every community. Your probably thinking, “well who’s going to pay for that? It will never happen”. Fair question, but in actual fact it can… and for little to no cost. It’s all about attitude. It’s about ensuring our current and future assets are youth friendly, attractive and safe. During the summer school holidays why not put 20 bean bags out in the middle of the dowse square, light up a BBQ and have a water fight (away from the bean bags of course!). Let’s forget about spending $$ on the bricks and mortar and utilize what we’ve got.

Going back to Secret Level – I’m not ‘anti-youth centres’. I genuinely believe there is still scope for a dedicated youth space in our CBD (Just look at Zeal in Wellington, they are nailing it and provide an awesome space for young people), but we as a Council shouldn’t just folk out $158k a year for a youth centre and think we are doing an awesome job for the city’s youth. We as a Council must look at the bigger picture and understand how we can make a meaningful difference for young people, and how we can transform what we already have in Hutt City to make us more of a Youth City.

Wainuiomata in the 2014/15 HCC Annual Plan

Leave a reply

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

In June the Hutt City Council approved its annual plan which included a number of new projects designed to rejuvenate Lower Hutt. Wainuiomata looks set to benefit with a range of projects and initiatives with one being the inclusion of $300,000 over the next 3 years to focus on implementing a development plan. This spending is a part of Council’s Urban Growth Strategy and will ultimately focus on making Wainuiomata a more vibrant and attractive place to live, work and play.

Councillor Campbell Barry who proposed the $300k investment is very pleased with the result. “This is a good win for Wainuiomata, but it is just the beginning”. Councillor Barry sees the money as seed funding for bigger and better development here in Wainuiomata. “$300k alone won’t go far, but as long as we are smart in how we use it, I have no doubt that we can initiate some long term and on-going positive change for our community”.

Other significant projects and initiatives which are included in this year’s Council budget for Wainuiomata include $1.5m for the extension and upgrade of Wise Street, $1.2m (part funded by NZTA) for improvements to the Wainuiomata Hill Road, $1m for sewer renewals and $70k for Youth Inspire (Mayors taskforce for Jobs).

$820k is also being carried over from 2013/14 for a bridge at the top of the Wainuiomata Hill. “We are still waiting on NZTA to approve a 58% subsidy for the summit bridge, but from the advice we have received it looks very promising the subsidy will be approved this year” says Councillor Barry. Council has also continued its commitment of at least $30k each year for improvements to Waiu Park. There is also a provision of $225k to upgrade the Wainuiomata Garden of Remembrance at the northern end of Hine Road, however this will not be until 2016/17.

Overall Councillor Barry is happy with the outcomes of Council’s budget for Wainuiomata. “We are taking care of our core infrastructure and have some exciting new initiatives and projects that will compliment what is already happening. There is still a long way to go, and there will be hurdles to jump, but I believe we are on the right track”.

ENDS

How Do I Vote In The Local Body Elections?

Leave a reply

STEP 1: Make sure you are enrolled to vote

i) You have to be 18 to be able to enrol to vote

ii) You can enrol or check your enrollment details at secure.elections.org.nz/app/enrol/

iii) You must enrol by the 16th August 2013 in order to receive your voting papers by post. If you enrol after this date then you must cast a ‘special vote’.

iv) You can cast a special vote by contacting Hutt City Council’s election officer. This is Bruce Hodgins. Contact Bruce at bruce.hodgins@huttcity.govt.nz or call 570 6666

STEP 2: It’s not the same as parliamentary elections. You vote by post in local body

i) You will receive your voting papers between 20-25th of September

ii) Your voting papers will include elections for the following positions:

1) Mayoralty of Lower Hutt City

2) Councillor Elections in your Council Ward – I.e. Wainuiomata Ward

3) Community Board for your area

4) Greater Wellington Regional Council – Lower Hutt Constituency

5) Hutt Valley DHB

6) Hutt Mana Charitable Trust

You will also receive a ‘candidates booklet’ with blurbs on each candidate.

STEP 3: Once you have completed your voting forms send it back!

i) There will be an envelope to return your voting papers in

ii) You can return your voting papers by posting it back or by taking it to your local library

iii) Your voting papers must be returned by the 12th October. So it is important that you send your papers back at least 3-4 days before then. You should aim to send it away by the 8th of October at the lastest

TIP: Vote as soon as you get your voting papers, and return them straight away. It’s easy to forget once you put them aside!!