|
Chairs Report April 2026
Tupua Horo Nuku Blessing and Opening
You’ll probably be aware that the Resilience Seawall and Shared Path project is nearing completion and will be formally blessed and opened on 18 April. Hutt City are planning a big day and will be inviting everyone to get involved. The formalities will begin early at the Hikoikoi Reserve and then move to Williams Park in Days Bay for the remainder of the day. If you are interested in being involved, either as a walker, a cyclist or as a group/business then stay informed hutt.city/tupuahoronuku. ECB will share information when it comes to hand, and provide support where we can.
February Storm and learnings
The wind and rainfall event in February was yet another wake-up call for us all. The new seawall seems to have done its job. We had no road closures along the coast, some areas had trees down and there were power cuts, for several days for some residents. Now is the time to review how we managed and maybe be better prepared than we thought we were. Watch out for more information in this space.
We postponed our Community Board Meeting on the expectation that the storm could make the library unavailable, and that HCC staff would have their hands full dealing with the consequences, even if the storm had passed. Our apologies to anyone who did turn up, or were unaware that the meeting went ahead a week later. We use our website, electronic noticeboard, Facebook and our email to 450+ subscribers to try and inform residents, especially in situations like this. Information on how you can be updated is included at the end of this report.
I was invited to join a Lowry Bay Civil Defence Committee meeting recently. Discussions were largely around the local response to the recent storm, and the group were particularly pleased with the use made of their hand-held radios to keep in touch and informed about their residents' situations. They instituted a pre-arranged radio schedule which worked well. The other highlight was the use of generators to keep the community "powered up”, and it was apparent that we can all learn from their successes. Ben Hainsworth is our primary board member to contact for Bays/ Residents Association matters.
Seaview Marina path upgrades
We have been contributing to a review of cycling access through the Seaview Marina to help make Tupua Horo Nuku more accessible and integrated with the Great Harbour Way / Te Aranui o Pōneke
Seaview Wharf Resilience Project
Those who walk or cycle (in particular) may have noticed the work going on at the wharf with the laying of the new pipework to service the tankers. It was decided that laying the pipe along the sea floor was more resilient than suspending it from the existing wharf. Each night 2 sections of pipe were brought in, attached to the end of the pipe being laid, and then pushed out alongside the wharf. This work has been completed on time and the temporary path around the work removed. We are in contact with the project team, and will be discussing the options for the area when the project is complete, being aware of the issues raised about parking and access.
Petone Fair - NZRT18 / Electrify the Hutt
The Petone Fair was it’s usual “larger than life” affair, I managed to spend most of the day there assisting the NZ Response Team 18 (recently gifted a surveillance drone by the Eastbourne Bays Community Trust, and which will have significant value to us). Although they are the Urban Search and Rescue arm of Hutt City they are a volunteer group relying on donations to fund the specialised equipment they need to be effective, so if you’d like to be involved, or donate, please get in touch. I also helped out with Electrify the Hutt who recently ran an Expo, and were behind the local “Watts Inside” Eastbourne and Bays Solar and Electric Home Tour, another group to engage with if you feel inclined.
Red Cross
I travelled with a local Red Cross member to the Karori Fair where Red Cross were well represented. As an essential service in emergencies we are looking at ways to support and help Red Cross grow in Eastbourne/ Bays - so if you are interested, please get in touch.
Petone Community Association
We had a great meeting with members of the newly formed Petone Community Association (created following the loss of the Petone Community Board). They are particularly focussed on the several issues they currently face, including their wharf, the Petone-Grenada road, and issues around their library, pool and grand-stand. Our discussions centred around emergency management and community communications. There is much we can learn from each other.
Emergency Management Institute
I was fortunate to attend this week-long course run by Massey University Joint Centre for Disaster Research (JCDR). The course included Emergency Planning and Coordination, Mana Whenua and Māori Community Roles in Disasters, Warning Systems for Hazard Events, Wellbeing and Resilience in Disasters, and Hazard Landscapes and Mitigation Strategies (included visits to the National Geohazards Monitoring Centre (NGMC) and the National Crisis Management Centre (NCMC, aka the "Beehive Bunker).
Normandale Community Hub practice and our Radio network
I attended the elected members Community Hub practice at Normandale which I highly recommend - we had one at Wellesley a while ago, and hope to stage one in Eastbourne sometime soon. The one aspect of this which really benefits from practice is radio operation, and Eastbourne / Bays is lucky that we have a long standing radio network operated by volunteers in most of the bays. This CD network technology is old and relies on a repeater site in Maungaraki. New Zealand emergency organisations are moving to newer digital technologies so eventually our network will no longer be viable. To this end we are looking at replacement options for community communications. One option being explored is Meshtastic.
Meshtastic / CRISiSLab
Meshtastic is a low power radio network technology that requires no other infrastructure (i.e. no power, internet, mobile or satellite), it just relies on small low power devices passing messages around within a group. It’s like a room full of people in a room sharing a message with their neighbours, passing it on until everyone has received it. Eastbourne is joining a research project (with CRISiSLab, part of JCDR mentioned earlier) to investigate the effectiveness and opportunities that this technologies offers. It’s open to anyone interested, so get in touch or search our website for details. We’ll post more information soon. crisislab.org.nz/wellingtoncommunitymeshnetwork
Youth Group
The Eastbourne Youth Group is not getting the numbers to remain sustainable, and we are exploring options with them to try and keep options open. Hopefully we may have more on this in the near future. Contact Emily Keddell if you have any thoughts on this issue.
Mayors Meeting
The Chairs of both Eastbourne and Wainuiomata had our 3 monthly meeting with the Mayor recently. Discussions were mainly around community impacts and response to the recent storms, and effective community communications
Te Ara Tupua walkabout
I was fortunate to be part of a group that walked part of Te Ara Tupua recently. Like our own pathway this project seems to be accelerating towards conclusion, and there's some great story telling associated with it, with several ūranga (rest areas) along the way. When this project and our own Tupua Horo Nuku are completed, and joined by the improvements along the Petone foreshore, I’m sure this will become one of the iconic features (and must-does) of Wellington/ Te Whanganui a Tara.
Pump Track / Cycle Skills area Burdan’s Gate
Some concept drawings have been created for the development of a cycle skills area south of the Wahine Memorial - contact Jeremy Chaston if you have ideas or would like to be involved. We are interested in ideas for the rest of this area also.
The saga of the Eastbourne Police Cell Museum
For those that know, we were urgently looking for a new home for the old jail - with a deadline of 3 April, after which it was destined for the dump. The history of the jail is long and interesting, and the history of Murray Gibbon’s efforts to keep the jail in Eastbourne as a historic feature is equally epic. Supported by many in the community, and accompanied by many setbacks including having the doors stolen - Murray has finally concluded that his vision in it’s current form will not be realised - but he now has plans to preserve the spirit if not the structure of the jail for posterity. The jail was last seen on a truck heading north, hopefully to return for private use at some stage. At least it avoided demolition. In the meantime Murray has plans for an alternative display at Rona Wharf - watch this space.
Consultations
Review of the Public Places and Trading in Public Places Bylaws
Council is proposing to consolidate its Public Places Bylaw and Trading in Public Places Bylaw into one bylaw to manage public places. Although the Trading in Public Places Bylaw is not due for review until 2028, consolidation provides an opportunity to improve clarity, reduce duplication, and simplify future bylaw reviews. Other proposed changes focus on clarifying standards, updating definitions and amending outdated rules. All proposed amendments are set out in the draft version of the proposed Bylaw contained in the Statement of Proposal. Residents can provide their feedback in multiple ways:
- Make an online submission using the survey;
- Email a submission to policy@huttcity.govt.nz with “Public Places Bylaw” in the email subject line; or
- Print and drop off a submission at the front counter at our offices at 30 Laings Road, Lower Hutt.
Draft Annual Plan Consultation (31 March - 1 May)
During April the council will be engaging in consultation on the draft Annual Plan 2025-26. Details on this will be made available, probably by the time you read this. You can always check on what is being consulted on at hutt.city/haveyoursay
Tiaki Wai’s draft Water Services Strategy
Currently seeking feedback on their draft Water Services Strategy, Customer Charter,and Significance and Engagement Policy. This went out for public feedback on 25 March, closes 22 April 2026. Go to haveyoursay.tiakiwai.co.nz for information and to provide feedback.
Your City Councillors
Ward Councillor Tui Lewis and City Wide Councillor Kaz Jung had a drop-in session in the village recently. One topic raised was the Art Trail (17/18 October) - this is a while away, but given our creative community and the opening of Tupua Horo Nuku we raised the possibility of the various studios throughout the Bays becoming part of a permanent art trail as a feature of the pathway - something for the arts community to consider?
Walkabout
The community board normally has a walkabout (Saturday morning) to meet residents from the bays and discuss issues and ideas they may have. We plan to have this later in the year after the pathway has been opened and a little “settling in” period, but also to work around school holidays etc. A date will be announced well in advance (pencil in morning 23 May, tbc).
Community Survey
A little more than 10 years ago the ECB held a comprehensive community survey to determine the community priorities.The completion of the Eastern Bays shared walk/cycle way was clearly the most important issue with concern about climate change and extreme weather events next. Safety in the community, clean seas for swimming and quality public transport were also highly ranked. With the imminent completion of the path we feel it’s an appropriate time to survey the community again. This will happen later in the year, but in the mean time we are keen to hear what general issues you would like to see in the survey. Let us know, the Walkaround could be a good opportunity.
Removal of parking spaces
We received an enquiry a while ago about the process around getting a parking space removed. Unfortunately I cannot find the original enquiry but here is the answer we received from the council:.
For the removal of a parking space, a Request for Action form will be issued to seek feedback from nearby affected residents. Depending on the level of support received, the request will then be progressed for removal.
Stay up to date with the city, the community board, and the community.
To keep up with what is going on you can join the Eastbourne Community Notice Board on Facebook - we post most things there.
We also post news and events on the community website Eastbourne.nz
The electronic noticeboard is also available in the library window if you’re not online.
We also send an occasional email updates - you can subscribe to that (over 450 residents have) at Eastbourne.nz/newsletter. Contact details for all ECB members are available on the website, notice board and also in the Eastbourne Herald.
Bruce Spedding
Chair - Eastbourne Community Board
27 March 2026
|
Have Your Say on the Draft Wellington Region CDEM Group Plan 2026–2031
ANZAC Day Parade 25 April 
