September 4, 2020
eDNA results
The eDNA sampling of our local stream near the Hungerford Road playground has produced some encouraging results. Not only are there Koura (freshwater crayfish) but there are signs of a native fish, the banded kōkopu. (Photo from NIWA.) These creatures are surviving in our very fresh but only inches deep spring water, cut off for 70+ years by the landfill pipes.
Not surprisingly, the results found no fish life in the stream once it had entered the pipes below the landfill. And when you see what comes out into the sea after a long dry spell you can see why!
This photo was taken by a surfer, Dominic Geers, and featured in a recent NZ Herald article.
Seed to Feeds
The Seeds to Feeds event people are asking Houghton Valley if they want to participate again this year, growing food over the summer months and hosting a community dinner in early March. We need to get a volunteer team together before we can commit to the project. Things to get involved with include:
- Event planning
- Food growing at the community garden or your own backyard
- Meal preparation
- Setting up the hall
- Assisting with serving and cleaning up
If you would like to be involved, please contact Jenny.
Report on Hungerford Rd Maintenance Plan
The plan is to start this December but if that is not possible, then February 2021. The works will take about 2 – 3 weeks. The key impediment is the steepness of the road and the safety issues that raises as it is at the limits of heavy vehicle capacity. This will mean barriers and a rota of road closures for the west and east sections of the road. There is also a possibility that works needed in View Road could be incorporated into the same time frame.
The road will be closed during work hours. Buses will be re-routed to Houghton Bay Road and off-street parking and access during the works will be negotiated with work crews. Rubbish collection and deliveries will be allowed access and it was stressed that all care will be taken to ensure disability and other high-needs access will be assisted by the crews when informed. It is important that services such as taxis and Uber are informed when booked during this time.
Locals offered suggestions about points of congestion such as school pickup times and placing signage well away to allow detours. There was considerable comment over issues of speed on Hungerford Road and the intersection at the top. These comments were taken back to WCC planners to see if improvements such as signage and traffic calming could be incorporated into the work.
As this Sunday is still Level 2, Katy will postpone Koha Coffee, hopefully only until the following Sunday. You can check our local Facebook Group for the new date. If you are new, you may need to sign up for the Facebook Group, but it is there for other local news in between the newsletters.
The Koha coffee will still be 10.30 am at the Houghton Valley Community Hall, next to the Playcentre. A warm welcome to new residents as well as the regulars.
Update on the Runway Extension
The following is an excerpt from the Guardian of the Bays 2020 Annual Report.
Things are on hold at the Airport (WIAL): the Civil Aviation Authority has still not decided on the required safety margin for any runway extension; the COVID-19 emergency has pushed out expansion plans for months, even years; and while WIAL says it still plans to extend the runway, they have delayed the timeline to some undetermined future.
However, the runway extension is only part of a much wider airport expansion. WIAL is stretching its boundaries into Miramar (e.g. the golf course), Moa Point (where it now owns half the residential properties) and Rongotai/Lyall Bay (e.g. the control tower, retail space and plans to utilise that industrial land for plane parking). The airport is also planning some major changes along the breakwater and on the Southern end of the runway at Moa Point.
There has been discussion on the desirability of the airport passing into public ownership so that the focus is on public service rather than the goal of maximising profits for the private sector for whom the environment, social disruption, public health and climate change are peripheral concerns. Yet WIAL continues to look to ratepayers and taxpayers to subsidise its activities – with as few strings attached as possible.
Rongotai Candidates Meetings
If you are interested in hearing our local Rongotai Candidates speak, here are a few options hosted by local residents’ Associations:
- Kilbirnie Community Centre: Saturday 19 September, 2.00 – 3.30 pm
- St Annes Hall Emmett St, Newtown: Thursday 24 September, 7.30 – 9.30 pm
- St Mathews Church, 98 Washington Ave: Wednesday 30 September, 7.30 pm
- Gateway Baptist, 33 Park Rd Miramar: Monday 28th September, 7.30 pm
(149 recipients, 96 opens)