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Eastbourne Community Board Chairs Report
With the General Election closing in, the Hutt City Council Long Term Plan (LTP) consultation initial consultation (completed) in the shadow of the mandated rates cap, and a variety of local issues - it’s been a busy time.
ATM machine in the village
This is a useful service in the village but has raised some issues, the main one being that sometimes cash withdrawals are not completed (cash is not dispensed). It now appears that this is the result of someone inserting a roll of paper or similar into the cash drawer which prevents the dispensed cash from appearing. Presumably the person responsible returns later to remove the obstruction and collect the cash that has been trapped.
It is important to check the cash drawer carefully to see if this is the cause, or if someone complains about not receiving their withdrawal then check for them. Also, be aware and report suspicious behaviour. Many of the ATM users may not be technology users, so posting warnings on social media may not reach them. Also be aware that your bank does not operate the machine, it is is operated by Next Payments, phone: 0800 639 8286
or website: nextpayments.co.nz - you should notify them of any issues.
Long Term Plan (LTP) review
The initial consultation period has now closed. The survey, both online and paper will be collated and analysed, mainly to establish community priorities on city and community services and assets. The council will be developing a LTP proposal for further consultation, driven by concerns about rates increases, the Target Operating Model (TOM) and the proposed government mandated rates cap from 2029. This will include some assets being assessed for divestment so this is a good time to start looking at options for some of our assets that may fall into this category. The community needs to look at creative ways to make our assets more relevant and productive ahead of any recommendations so we can “front foot” the things we value if needed.
Tupua Horo Nuku
Following the opening of the Tupua Horo Nuku there have been several areas of strong community interest.
Lowry Bay beach
The Lowry Bay Residents Association are challenging the replenishment of their beach, claiming it is not the “like for like” promised during consultation. The council has responded that the beach material used is consistent with the resource consent, the decision was publicly notified with no appeals received regarding the beach nourishment. It also says the beach will be monitored for two years to confirm it is performing as intended, and the profile is expected to lower and the material settle as it is exposed to waves and tidal action. ECB supports the Lowry Bay Residents Assn. efforts to get a satisfactory outcome, and will represent the views expressed by the community on the issue
Sunshine Bay to Days Bay transition
The HCC has a design to be implemented to extend the current path from Sunshine Bay around to the start of the boardwalk, mainly to improve safety and provide more information on what to expect. We hope this will be implemented before Christmas. HCC also presented a general proposal for the next section including the boardwalk replacement, path extension as far as the Ferry Road bus stop and then a crossing to the Williams Park side of the road. This will need to be designed, costed and consulted further before being added to the work schedule.
Days Bay transition
In addition to the northern access to Days Bay the transition of the shared path through Days Bay has yet to be addressed, although proposals have been voiced by locals, from low impact to radical. No decisions have been made on this yet.
Business development
Local businesses are finding things tough like everyone else. The opening of Tupua Horo Nuku this year and the expectation of a visitor boom for the bays this summer represents a great opportunity for existing businesses and an opportunity for new appropriate business activities. ECB has expressed our desire to see business growth compatible with the character of the bays, and creating synergies with existing businesses. Seeds of this are already emerging, and we hope to see more. We have requested that HCC provide more support to achieve this, especially as it would be economically beneficial all round.
Eastbourne Community Hall
This is our indoor sports facility, with additional kitchen, meeting/supper room and adjacent skateboard ramp, basketball and tennis courts and of course the ESSC building. Upstairs there are additional rooms which were used by the Youth Group. Collectively this has been identified as a possible location for an Integrated Community Use, Youth Activation, and Resilience Hub (Emergency Assistance Centre - EAC). The full proposal is available on https://Eastbourne.nz/EAC. We have not received feedback from the council yet.
Emergency Management and Community Resilience.
The ECB is also pleased to see the initiative being taken by HCC (starting with a presentation at the November board meeting). Council is working alongside WREMO to develop a programme of hyperlocal community readiness activities, focused on strengthening neighbourhood connections, practical preparedness and communities' ability to support one another during emergencies. HCC are still in the early stages of developing this work, and are keen to engage with the board before the approach is fully formed. HCC recognise there is already valuable community knowledge, leadership and preparedness activity in both areas, and would like to understand how they can best support and build on these strengths rather than duplicate what's already happening.
Come to the ECB meeting to find out more, and contact ECB if you’d like to be involved.
The Eastern Bays operate a volunteer emergency radio network on the CD channel. We run a radio check each month (possibly the only group to do so) and are keen to hear from anyone who may be interested in being involved. We are also looking at new replacement communications technologies. Contact Bruce Spedding.
We would also like to acknowledge the sad passing of Eddie Mills of Point Howard who was one of our operators. Eddie’s contributions were valued, and he will be sorely missed.
A recent training exercise with Tiaki Wai demonstrated how the water filtration stations at Lowry Bay and Days Bay operate. This is the beginning of a degree of autonomy where our community can operate these during an emergency. It was useful in identifying some issues which could be addressed.
Gollans Valley
The valley is not open to the public yet, but is now accessible to working groups of volunteers, and may also feature some open days over the summer. The best way to experience the new asset is to register with the Harbour to Headlands website https://h2h.kiwi.nz/ to receive their newsletters and join their activities.
Recycling - Tetrapaks
The Tetra-Pak recycling has been a resounding success, so successful we’ve had to be rescued by the Eastbourne Lions who now take care of emptying the bin and transferring the Tetra-paks to Earthlink. The Lions are incredibly active. It would be hard to not know about the book sales, the garage sale / auction, the monthly skip bin at Burdan’s Gate, the Christmas Market (29 November) and numerous other community projects. Their fundraising contributes financially to many community projects, and they are always looking for new members.
Community Survey
In the wake of quite a lot of other issues arising, and to make sure the community survey is most effective we are pushing this back to early 2027.
Historic Jail
The jail which Murray Gibbons worked so hard to have restored and installed adjacent to Rona Wharf has now been replaced by a proposal to create an installation featuring the jail doors and display material describing the history of the police presence and at least one of the jail’s most infamous occupants. Murray is proposing to fund this himself through sales of his extensive art work collection.
Bruce Spedding, Eastbourne Community Board - 19 November 2026
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The next Eastbourne Community Board meeting will be Tuesday 3 November 2026
