NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Regional Director Deborah Hume says the old Korokoro Bridge was demolished last month as part of the Dowse to Petone Upgrade project and the new overbridge which creates direct access between Hutt Road and Korokoro opens at the end of May.
The Dowse to Petone Upgrade project continues to run to programme with yet another milestone being reached after Easter when SH2 southbound traffic shifts to its new, permanent route next week.
Dumping material at Silverstream Landfill will be dearer from 1 July.
The Hutt Valleys 2 city councils are considering lifting fees per tonne from $78 to $84, which is likely to affect rubbish company charges and trickle down to Hutt residents in costs of material taken to landfill.
Also on top of this a new $10 per tone waste minimisation levy mandated by Parliament will also come into effect on the 1st July, but half of that money will come back to the city to fund waste minimisation / recycling activities
Five off-license premises in Lower Hutt are in danger of losing not only their liquor supply licence but also the managers’ licences after supplying under-18s with alcohol.
Police ran a covert operation targeting off-licence premises such as superettes, foodmarkets and hotels on 27 March. They visited 20 premises and it’s alleged five sold liquor to a minor.
Licensing Sergeant Andy Smith from the Community Engagement Team says they have asked the Liquor Licensing Authority to consider suspending or cancelling liquor and manager’s licenses. One employee faces a charge in the District Court for a supply offence that carries a maximum fine of $2,500.
“We’re pleased with the results of this operation as it shows the majority of off-licence holders are conscientious in their obligations and are serious about protecting our young people from liquor abuse.”
The other 15 outlets who abided by liquor laws were sent letters of congratulations.
Interviews are currently underway and are due for completion in June this year. 5400 people throughout New Zealand are being surveyed about how safe people feel within their community, if they have been a victim of an crime in the past year, and if so what the effects were. Several other in depth questions are also asked. The survey is private and cannot be traced.
It is not related to the current review of policing in the Hutt Valley (Project Awakairangi) which is been undertaken.
Full details here: http://www.justice.govt.nz/media/article-nz-crime-safety-survey.html
Council owned company Urban Plus last week recommended that the council not proceed to lend $1.7 million to a developer as the risk was too great.
No doubt the council acted properly by insisting that Urban Plus complete due diligence, the question lies as to whether it is the councils role to fund a developer at all?
Public opinion would suggest that a greater level of transperancy is required by the council in any dealings involving funding especially all projects that involve private investment, or a project deemed to benefit a private investor.
So what of the Daly Apartment development now?
Is the project going to proceed? Was the councils money a necessary deal maker to complete the project?
No doubt time will tell if any work will commence on this empty site in Daly Street.
Photos copyright HuttNZ
Number 333 belonging to Eve-Ann Beattie.
In tradition of the event she returned the prize of a spa bath ($1699) to be auctioned off , but retained the $500 cash prize.
Over 4000 ducks were sold ($5 each) raising around $8000 each for the 2 charities Te Omanga Hospice and the Gillies McIndoe Research Institute.
Thanks to the principal organiser Mike Raynes
See Photos here from Sundays events https://huttnz.co.nz/2009/04/05/recent-photos/
via http://www.bigcities.govt.nz/pdfs/2008/Quality_of_Life_2008_Hutt_City.pdf
The Quality of Life Survey is a partnership between 12 Quality of Life Project Cities and the Ministry of Social Development. The Quality of Life survey has been conducted every two years since 2004 (2003, 2004, 2006 and 2008) and measures the perceptions of over 7,500 residents living in the country’s largest cities and districts.
Topics covered in the survey include:
Information obtained from the survey will be used to help inform central and local government policy makers. The information will be particularly useful for cities undertaking monitoring of progress toward achieving community outcomes under their Local Government Act requirements.
via http://www.gw.govt.nz/story31260.cfm
Lower Hutt Western Hills Belmont
The native whitehead has been spotted in residential Belmont for the first time in more than a century.
Whiteheads disappeared from Wellington, Porirua and the Hutt Valley in the late 1800s as native forest became farmland and a host of introduced pests chewed on the remaining forest and the birds themselves. Under attack from possums, rats, stoats, weasels and ferrets, whiteheads retreated into the Tararua Ranges.
A Belmont resident called Greater Wellington in March about the sighting. She had never seen whiteheads in the area previously. Other Belmont residents have also been talking about seeing whiteheads in the surrounding bush for the first time.
GW Parks Principal Advisor Philippa Crisp is delighted with the news of another native bird species re-occupying its former territory after pest control work.
“We were excited in 2004 when bellbirds were recorded for the first time in decades in Korokoro Valley. Now it is great to hear that whiteheads are also able to expand their range and colonise these bush remnants.”
Whiteheads have been present for some time in large tracts of forest in the upper valley such as Akatarawa Forest, and in Keith George Memorial Park, near Silverstream, where volunteers have been controlling possums for 10 years. It now appears that they are moving south into areas that have more recently had possum control programmes.
Suburban Belmont adjoins a large GW/Hutt City Council initiative to control possums along the bush reserves in the western hills from Korokoro to Belmont. Possums are also being controlled in Korokoro Valley and Speedy’s Reserve as part of GW’s Belmont Regional Park pest control programme.
Regional Sustainability Chairperson, Chris Laidlaw says: “This is a great example of how the native birds and forest in the region benefit from pest control. Many of New Zealand’s plants and animals can flourish when introduced pests stop eating them.”
Greater Wellington controls possums in other reserves in Wellington, Porirua and Hutt City and the Kapiti District as part of its Key Native Ecosystem programme, aimed at protecting and enhancing native plants and animals at selected sites in the region. This regional programme to reduce possums has improved the overall health of the bush remnant network, encouraging native birds to move into these areas and breed.
For more information contact
Jim Flack
Communications Adviser, Catchment Division
06 370 5642, 027 228 3067
jim.flack@gw.govt.nz
Whitehead feeding Chick
Lower Hutt Huia Pool April 16th-19th
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