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Eastbourne Community Board Chair's Report - June 2023
Point Howard slip
Point Howard residents, especially those at the top of Howard Road, continue to be impacted by the slip that has reduced the road to one lane. The ECB has asked for a report on the proposed solution and the timeline at the next public meeting on 20 June 2023.
Community Engagement Fund
Community boards receive funding to give out to applicants each financial year. The ECB has met to allocate $2,015.00 to six applications for this round. The successful applicants will be announced at the Board meeting on 20 June 2023.
Submissions
The Board has made the following submissions and presentations to Council since the last report:
- Draft speed management plan: The ECB was disappointed the plan didn’t include consultation on lowering the speed in roads back from Marine Drive in the Eastern Bays, where residents have asked for this for years. The Board also recommended further consultation on the proposal to lower the speed along Marine Drive in Days Bay to 30km/hour. The Board doesn’t think this significant proposed change has been notified widely enough in Eastbourne.
- Draft Annual Plan:
- The ECB submitted and presented about the Tupua Horo Nuku project and the importance of this as a resilience project, along with its potential to connect communities, encourage active transport, and protect critical infrastructure. We also asked why the Lowry Bay section will be constructed last, when managing the wave action there will benefit all Eastbourne residents.
- The Board commented on the importance of improving Eastbourne’s bus and ferry service to reduce the volume of traffic on the Petone Foreshore.
- Cat bylaw: Frank Vickers, Deputy Chair, presented to the Policy, Finance and Strategy Committee on behalf of the ECB to encourage the Committee to introduce a bylaw requiring compulsory microchipping and desexing of cats. Cat management bylaws will be a significant step towards protecting native birds, including dotterels. Trapping cats on urban fringes is not possible without microchipping, because there’s no way to know if a cat is domestic or wild. We are pleased that Council has voted to support the introduction of a bylaw.
Annual walk-about
The ECB has an annual “walk-about” of Eastbourne and the Eastern Bays, during which we meet with resident associations and individuals to discuss issues and opportunities. A senior Council officer joins the Board to advise and record the actions. This year’s event was in April. The issues raised are included in the June meeting agenda, and the Board will monitor progress in addressing these.
Tupua Horo Nuku
The shared path and resilience project is making visible progress. The ECB is looking forward to the project open day on Sunday 18 June 2023.
Bird protection areas
The Board has received positive feedback about the new bird protection area at HW Shortt Park. The area is roped off to protect nesting Little Blue Penguins. We look forward to seeing new plans for the proposed Bishop Park bird protection area and revised plans for Whiorau Reserve. The bird protection areas are required as part of the consent conditions for the Tupua Horo Nuku shared path and resilience project.
Public transport
We continue to monitor the reliability and capacity of the Eastbourne bus service. The Board attended a Council briefing by Metlink and asked about capacity issues (including the overcrowded services) and when the 85x service will be reinstated. We are waiting for further information.
Communication
One of the Board’s roles is communicating relevant matters, proposals, consultations, and issues with residents. We do this through our Facebook page (705 followers), the eastbourne.nz website, our email list (220+ subscribers), our regular column in the Eastbourne Herald, and the digital display board at the library.
Belinda Moss ,12 June 2023
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