Local Happenings

Published as Issue No. 88

December 3, 2013

Film Evening: Last film evening, coffee and catch-up for the year is Wednesday 11 December at Houghton Valley School, 7.30. pm The Nature of Cities explores nature in our own backyards featuring Austin and San Diego and future projects in Malmo, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Freiburg, Amsterdam and Paris. Wellington has now joined the Biophilic Cities project, one which seeks to include and care for nature in its urban environment. For more information see http://biophiliccities.org

Make your own: A morning of making Xmas gifts, cards and wrapping paper or come along with a project of your own. Saturday, 14 December, 9.30 am – 1.30 pm. Please bring any materials you have to share and something for morning tea. No experience necessary, just a willingness to experiment and have fun. Meet at Grant’s studio . More information, ring Miranda.

Christmas on the Commons: Weather permitting there will be a gathering of community on Te Kawakawa Commons on Christmas Day. More details in the next newsletter.

Capacity Replies: Capacity Infrastructure has replied to John (Robinson) about the issue of leachate flowing into Houghton Bay. This response and John’s follow-up questions are available at http://houghtonbaysign.blogspot.co.nz.

Reminder: The community meeting to hear from the developer about plans to build 13 houses at 215 Houghton Bay Rd will be held in the school hall Wednesday December 4, starting 7 p. More details Tracey.

Norman

Published as Issue No. 86

November 20, 2013

Welcome to new ‘subscribers’: 194 households are now on the mailing list.

Free Te Reo Course: Te Wananga o Aotearoa is offering the beginners level Te Ara Reo Maori language course free to the Houghton Valley Community in 2014. Twenty spaces are available on a first-come, first-served basis; venue will be Houghton Valley School. It involves one evening a week (as well as a few weekend days) over the year. The Wananga is running an information and enrolment evening on Thursday 28 November 7.30 pm in the school library. RSVP for the information evening to Kate.

Breaking News: From Maria Maillo, Investigation and Design Engineer, Capacity Infrastructure Services Limited: “Dear Houghton Bay residents and beach users, this is to advise that today (19 November) we removed a small sign reading “Danger polluted water” near where the Houghton Valley stormwater outfall discharges onto the beach.

The sign no doubt refers to the occasional discharge of discoloured water from the outfall. However, as there are already three permitted signs near this site referring to the possible presence of this discharge, and it is illegal to post signs on the beach without permission, we removed the beach sign. We are always happy to explain the issues relating to the discharges at Houghton Bay.”

[For information about the sign see http://houghtonbaysign.blogspot.co.nz/]

Who Dunnit? A garage near 58 Hornsey Rd was damaged around 8 – 8.40 am on Wednesday, November 13. It looks like a truck turned in a driveway to do a U-turn and hit the top left corner. Any information to Michael.

From Te Kawakawa Commons: “Our thanks to those who gathered (earlier this month) for another working bee. [No photo] It’s great we see new faces every time and more littlies. The Commons is now in great shape for play and social gathering … but the work goes on, accompanied by Pipiwharauroa singing away. There’s some next generation planting going on further up the hillside, where a track will give easier access eventually, and we managed to replace a bit of the mulch cover the winter rains carried off. We’ll keep you posted on the next opportunity.”

Houghton Valley School Zone: Three bedroom house to rent in Melrose from around December 23. Two living areas, dining room, carport, garden, fully fenced and sunny, quiet and private, wood-burner for cooler months, cat friendly. Zoned for HVS, school bus stop nearby. Call/txt/email Belinda.

Norman

Published as Issue No. 85

November 6, 2013

The Kae Miller Trust, which runs the community lodge/retreat on the View Rd South Headland Reserve met on Saturday. (http://www.houghtonvalley.org.nz/playing/Kae%20Miller/kae_miller.html – members are Brenda and Norman from View Rd, Grant – Hungerford Rd and Jenny – Houghton Bay Rd). Jointly with TRiG http://www.houghtonvalley.org.nz/playing/TRiG/trig.html the Trust has a partnership with the City Council on aspects of the management of the Reserve. From the meeting:

• Until an issue with the Council involving the use of sprays is permanently resolved the Trust has spent $500 of its own funds to pay for clearing some of the secondary tracks, work that is normally carried out by the Council., so now its much easier to head out to Peter’s (Piebe’s) seat (http://houghtonvalley.org.nz/playing/Naming%20the%20tracks/tracks.html
• Craig Crestani of the international 500 Peace Parks initiative will meet with Trust members shortly to discuss the work of the late founder and peace activist Kae Miller which saw the creation of a Peace Grove near the Lodge 30 years ago. [Noe attachment].
• For the first time since the lodge was built the Trust is proposing to seek funding from outside organisations to cover the cost of maintenance and repairs such as roof repairs and painting.

Urban Water Harvesting: A talk on Wednesday 13 November 7.30 pm at Houghton Valley School. Recent earthquakes and droughts have shown that we can’t take our water supply for granted; Stan Abbot Director of the Roof Water Harvesting at Massey University talk about the benefits of harvesting our roof water, how to do it and the best products available.

Cleaning Up the Bay: Capacity Infrastructure Services this week announced they are carrying out cleaning of the storm water pipe located beneath the landfill. [No attachment]. There are indications of other work such as installing electronic devices to monitor leachate flows are being carried out. Meanwhile there are local initiatives under way to erect signs which warn beach users of the health dangers from the leachate.

School Fair: Today’s issue of the School Newsletter reported the Fair last month made $25,000. Principal/Tumuaki Raewyn Watson reports this will be used to make the playgrounds more challenging, interesting and safe

Norman

Missing attachments:

Preview attachment Capacity Notice October 4 2013.jpg

Preview attachment Cook Strait News Sept 16 2013 Peace Parks.pdf

Published as Issue No. 84

Published as Issue No. 83

October 9, 2013

Know your Native plants: On Sunday October 13 at 2 pm, botanist Dr. Maggy Wassilieff from Island Bay will conduct a walking tour through the rainforest between the school and the Playcentre, pointing out what native plants are indigenous to this area and which ones will grow well in your garden. At 3 pm there will be afternoon tea in the adjacent community garden, gold coin koha or bring nibbles.

Hungerford Rd Traffic: Scott from Hungerford Rd reports on progress working with the Council on traffic issues and the result of the traffic count which provided evidence that too much traffic is using the road. More information. See the website forum discussion: http://houghtonvalley.org.nz/forum/discussion/203/planning-to-discourage-traffic-from-our-roads. [Link not working.]

Freedom camping: With input from other locals, Huib from View Rd put in a submission to the council last week on the freedom camping proposal as it relates to/affects Te Raekaihau Point and Princess Bay. See the website forum discussion: http://houghtonvalley.org.nz/forum/discussion/207/freedom-camping-on-the-south-coast. [Link not working.] He understands two other people from the area have also put in submissions

Te Kawakawa Commons: Working bee Sunday 13 October 10 am – 12 midday. Are you up for mulch spreading, planting and weeding? Come and join us next Sunday morning in the beautiful Commons for some community connection and a great morning tea.

Film Night: There will be no film night in October but watch this space in November for news about water management in Wellington starting with water tanks.

On the website: Local people are swapping and giving away items via the website. Thanks to Carolyn, Ian now has a new/old laptop to operate his webcam from View Road. Estelle is offering some furniture for people to borrow for a year or so at no cost.

HoughtonValley Progressive Association: HVPA President Christine from Buckley Rd advises the next meeting of the Houghton Association committee will be held on Sunday at 4 pm in the Community Hall.

Thinking about Photovoltaics? Through his energy efficiency work, Norman of View Rd has been contacted by Michelle Scott a Dunedin-based researcher wishing to talk to Houghton Valley residents thinking about installing, or who have already installed, PV panels. More details at http://houghtonvalley.org.nz/forum/discussions [link not working]

Plenty On: As part of his research project about Houghton Valley, Grant from Hungerford Rd has observed this is the time when the community gets active; from this issue of the newsletter he is not wrong.

Norman

Published as Issue No. 82

30 September, 2013

This ‘between newsletters’ bulletin has been distributed to invite input to a submission to the City Council on a proposed by-law which would allow free camping on the Te Raekaihau Point, Princess Bay carpark. Huib from View Rd is coordinating a local submission and already has had some input. He writes:

“I was reading the Wellingtonian and saw that the city council camping by-laws are under review. Currently freedom camping is prohibited in Wellington but this ban is not legal and the council has to indicate areas where camping is prohibited and areas where it is restricted. The council is proposing allowing freedom (i.e. free) camping at Te Raekaihau Point, Princess Bay and Owhiro Bay, with a maximum of four nights, and toilet facilities to remain open overnight.

The deadline for submissions is 5 pm on 4 October. As one of the two proposed sites is located directly within our community in Houghton Bay, this change will have a direct implication for our community. I haven’t fully thought through the issues but we need to consider the impact of the proposal such as pollution, safety at night for residents, light pollution, parking, environmental damage etc.

The council had to put a ban on freedom camping at Baleana Bay in January of this year because 25-30 vehicles per night where parking there, having rowdy parties and preventing locals from using the beach, generating multiple noise complaints per week. However, the proposed site is significantly further away from residential houses and most campers are responsible and sensible individuals. I wonder whether others would have any opinions about this proposal and whether we should be putting in a community submission.”

Norman

Published as Issue No. 81

September 25, 2013

Action Plan: Ten local people met on Sunday to consider how to work together, and with the City Council and its water, stormwater, and wastewater services subsidiary Capacity [Now Wellington Water] to eliminate pollution in Houghton Bay. The pollution is caused by leachate from the former Houghton Valley tip, especially when it rains. Among the options under consideration are capturing water from several natural springs on the western side of the valley, to avoid overloading the stormwater system which then flows into the Bay.

This is linked to the idea of ‘Lifting the Creek’, piped for decades under the tip. There was agreement the solutions are likely to be complex and the problem will not be solved overnight. For further information go to our website.

Website: Over the last two weeks a number of people have used the just-launched website in a number of ways.

School Fair: Clipped from the school newsletter. “The time for the school fair is rapidly approaching – please donate any spare, outgrown, unloved clean clothes that are in good repair to the cause.” If you are new to the area and don’t have children at the school, this is a community event where many locals get involved, or at least roll up to support, eat, drink, buy. Saturday October 19, 10 am – 2 pm.

Grant and Norman

Published as Issue No. 80

September 11, 2013

‘We’ now have a website: www.houghtonvalley.org.nz has local information and opportunities for locals to communicate with each other. There are seven click and follow red dots on the homepage. Here is a brief description of how it works:

• Streaming: about the community; how it started; where to from here;
• Playing: information about the projects in the area (go to Ian’s webcam page for instance and get updates on the local weather);
• Remembering: historical photos, maps, stories and timeline;
• Gurgling: a forum to have you say;
• Gesturing: where you can swap and share;.
• Murmuring: to enter dates into the calendar;
• Weaving: all the contacts in the area we know about. Say what you think about the website on the forum or contacts page.

[NB The website is being upgraded in 2023, so now has slightly different pages.]

Film evening: All welcome to the next film night Wednesday 25 September 7.30 pm Houghton Valley School. Mind the Gap, a NZ documentary by award winning director Bryan Bruce, explores why the gap between rich and poor is widening faster in New Zealand than in most OECD countries and why this inequality affects us all. This documentary was recently shown on TV and the subject of follow-up discussion in the media, e.g. this week’s Listener.

Leachate discharge: Discharge into Houghton Bay continues to be featured in the media. Local people are considering how this might be addressed and are in discussion with the Council. See http://houghtonvalley.org.nz/playing/Leachate/leachate.html

Lifting the Creek: As there has been a growing interest in this, a meeting is planned for the 22 September at the community garden at (3 pm). We will discuss what we can do to make it happen. If wet, we will make use of a school class room. http://houghtonvalley.org.nz/playing/lifting%20the%20creek/lift_creek.html

Successful events: Houghton Valley Playcentre raised more than $4000 from its Annual Great Debate on August 29 at the Pines, more than 20 locals at a meeting at the school last week learned more from Matt King about how to make and maintain your own toilet in a civil defence emergency http://www.composttoilets.co.nz/, and on Sunday long standing resident Peter/Piebe of Piebe’s seat http://houghtonvalley.org.nz/playing/Seat%20for%20Pete/Seat-for-pete.html celebrated his 80^th birthday (a few days late) at afternoon tea at the Community Garden.

Norman and Grant

This newsletter goes out every 2 weeks to 180 households, to join email news@houghtonvalley.org.nz

Published as Issue No. 79

August 28, 2013

Hungerford Rd Traffic: On Monday morning eight Hungerford Rd west residents met with Councillor Ray Ahipene-Mercer and City Council Traffic and Roading Engineer Paul Barker to discuss traffic issues in Hungerford Rd. Several solutions were proposed, such as speed bumps, chicanes and plantings. Ray has pledged to make something happen and will be seeking a response from the engineers in mid September. For further information contact Rico.

Annual Great Debate – Reminder: Tomorrow the Houghton Valley Playcentre presents the Annual Great Debate: “You can trust a journalist, a blogger and a lobbyist but not a politician.” Thursday 29 August at the Pines (doors open from 7pm). The line-up this year includes Hon Annette King, Pinky Agnew, Jane Clifton, Brent Edwards, Heather du Plessis-Allan and David Townsend. Tickets are $20 and include a light supper. All proceeds go to Houghton Valley Playcentre. Tickets are available from Kathryn.

Houghton Valley Website: Will be launched in two weeks. Locals working on the site are just putting the finishing touches to it now. The website will provide opportunities for locals to communicate with each other and to discuss important issues. The site also has information on all the projects happening in the area, as well as a collection of historical photographs, information and maps. The launch coincides with the third birthday of this newsletter, which started in September 2010 as group email for the four community gardeners.

Grant and Norman

Published as Issue No. 78

August 14, 2013

Annual Great Debate: Houghton Valley Playcentre presents the Annual Great Debate: “You can trust a journalist, a blogger and a lobbyist but not a politician.” Thursday 29 August at the Pines (doors open from 7pm). The line-up this year includes Hon Annette King, Pinky Agnew, Jane Clifton, Brent Edwards, Heather du Plessis-Allan and David Townsend. Tickets are $20 and include a light supper. All proceeds go to Houghton Valley Playcentre. Tickets are available from Kathryn. Spread the word and support the Playcentre! [No attachment.]

Local Elections: A number of people followed up the item in the last newsletter and expressed interest in attending a local Meet the Candidates meeting for the local body elections – but not enough to justify a meeting in Houghton Valley. The good news is the Newtown Residents’ Association will hold a meeting, on Wednesday 4 September in St Anne’s Parish Hall, at the end of Emmett St. The Parish will be putting on supper at the end of the meeting. The Association is preparing questions for the candidates; e-mail yours to them with ELECTION QUESTIONS in the title line.

Neighbourhood Watch? Presently the community is a target for theft. A credit card was stolen from a vehicle and a ute stolen from the reserve end of View Road after the car alarm was disabled earlier the previous week by smothering it with a pillow. An attempt on another car at 2.30 am was thwarted by a car alarm. Rachel from Hungerford Rd says she and her neighbours are looking into setting up a neighbourhood watch.

Working Bee: TRiG working bee, this Saturday 2-5pm at the Alice Krebs Lodge

Emergency Planning: Wednesday 28 August 7.30pm Houghton Valley School. How would you go in an emergency? Dig a hole in the back yard? Port-a-loo? How about a composting toilet? Instead of the monthly film Matt King, who works with the Wellington Regional Emergency Office (WREMO) will cover the basics of building and maintaining your own compost toilet. A few simple steps allow you to build a simple toilet that can be set up inside, doesn’t smell and lasts for a period of time. He also has experience supporting Christchurch people with emergency toilets.

Back on line: If your reception for TVNZ has been gone for a while it might not be your own aerial. Houghton Bay services were restored after engineers powered up the transmitters serving the area. It seems a combination of problems have kept the electricity supply off since the storm until late last week.

Norman and Grant