Kia ora whanau,
Hope you are all well.
We recently took a step closer to achieving a writers retreat in the West, when we formally recommended the transfer of Maurice Shadbolt House to the Going West Trust.
Purchased 16 years ago by the legacy Waitākere City Council for a writers’ residence, it has been a huge amount of hard work getting to this point. Our next step is to be there to press the case to the Mayor and Councillors when they make the final decision in the coming weeks.
Special thanks and acknowledgements are due to Board member Sandra Coney, as well as Naomi McCleary and the Going West Trust for their tenacity and perseverance in keeping this project moving along.
We are also pleased to see the removal of resource consent barriers to install rainwater tanks on residential and rural properties. This direction has been supported across the region by local boards and councilors alike and is a very sensible move for resilience in the face of climate change and as our city continues to grow.
And speaking of climate change, next month the council will sign off on its Annual Budget. You may recall in the consultation earlier this year the proposal to introduce a targeted rate for climate change. June is when the governing body will consider feedback on the consultation material and make the final decisions, so keep an eye out for that.
We see and reflect on all the feedback that comes through from people in our area, and on behalf of the board I want to thank everyone who took the time to participate in this round; your feedback really helped us to shape our response to the council.
Ngā mihi mahana (warm regards)
Saffron
Saffron Toms, Chair, Waitākere Ranges Local Board
