Make a difference in the sale and supply of alcohol

We are encouraging local communities to have their say on the Hutt City Local Alcohol Policy (LAP) covering the sale and supply of alcohol. Communities have till 4pm on Monday 1 July to put their views.

Your feedback is important in ensuring council considers your views when regulating off and on licenses, one-way door restrictions, and other licensing matters outlined in the LAP.

The Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 (SSAA) allows local authorities to create a LAP and put in place a new system of control that aims to ensure that alcohol is consumed safely and responsibly.

We as council can now make a change in our local communities and let the people be heard through LAP’s. Communities are able to restrict or extend trading hours of premises, limit the location and density of licences or impose conditions on licensed premise

We work closely with Police and our Hutt Valley Police Area Commander Mike Hill acknowledges alcohol misuse is a key driver of crime.

Copies of the LAP are available from the council administration building, 30 Laings Road, local libraries and on the council website www.huttcity.govt.nz/haveyoursay  

Voice of the Hutt Valley on local government must be heard

Hutt Valley residents have firmly rejected a supercity for the Wellington region.

A Hutt Valley community survey and a Colmar Brunton poll show firm support for the status quo with enhanced shared services by the majority of 7000 residents who responded. A United Hutt Valley is the preferred alternative if change is forced upon the region.

Our communities have made a strong and clear statement that plans for a supercity are dead.

People are passionate about this issue and are telling us no to a supercity.

Our job is to make sure the Local Government Commission knows the depth of local feeling.

A Colmar Brunton telephone poll reinforces the findings of the community Your Voice Your Choice survey. Both surveys were conducted over the period from late May to mid June 2013

The survey findings bring to six the number of councils in the region firmly against a supercity – Masterton, Carterton, and South Wairarapa District Councils are pushing for a single unitary authority and Kapiti District Council wants to retain the current system.

We are going to report back to our respective communities and meet as separate councils and make decisions about our next action.

We are very pleased with the overwhelming response from the 7000 residents of the Hutt Valley who made their views known to us through both the community survey and the Colmar Brunton poll.

This is the biggest single response to any survey we have conducted in the history of both councils, and is the largest regional response to this issue – and that is a voice we must listen to.

Now we will get on with it.

Further information on the survey can be found at www.yourvoiceyourchoice.org.nz

Neighbours help those in need

Lower Hutt residents showed they are good neighbours keeping in close contact with friends and the people next door following the massive storm that left a trail of devastation across the city.

I was very impressed with the willingness of Lower Hutt people to look out for each other particularly for neighbours with large families or people living alone who were affected by the storm. The Facebook was alive with people offering assistance or alerting others to areas of need.

The people who helped others were the local heroes in the aftermath of the worse storm in many years.

Many Belmont and Eastbourne residents were still without power more than three days after the storm.

Emergency services worked around the clock clearing trees and repairing roads damaged by the storm. The widespread loss of power caused anxiety and concern and everything possible was done to get everyone back on line.

Hutt City contractors defied the howling winds and rain to get out on the job on the night of the storm and our civil defence response teams coordinated activities ensuring there was a steady flow of information to keep our residents informed of developments.

Information is critical in such times  and the council facebook was accessed by many of our people who wished to share information and keep everyone updated.

Many trees were uprooted and a large number of branches were scattered everywhere. The heavy seas caused some road closures along the coastline while commuters faced delays through cancelled trains caused by track damage.

Our Hutt City call centre managed a heavy load of callers.

Everyone involved in clearing up the debris and getting things running again have done a fantastic job and deserve our praise for a job well done..

ENDS

https://www.facebook.com/huttcitycouncil

Students create vision for future landscape of Hutt City

It is truly amazing what can happen when you give 100 students a pencil and tell them to come up with designs that transform our city of Lower Hutt.

I am thoroughly impressed with the work produced by Victoria University’s School of Architecture students under Professor Jules Moloney. They have mounted their work in a pop-up shop exhibition at the Queens Drive arcade. And the attraction is how students have interpreted the future shape for our Central Business district. There are some truly wonderful ideas.

To me this is a step toward building of a partnership between Lower Hutt and Victoria University School of Architecture to research Hutt-based projects that are relevant to city council strategies.

The offering is drawn from our urban growth strategy and interprets what residential development may look like

Our urban Growth Strategy is taking our city and overlaying opportunities for catering for growth as we look to provide living space for families and young people choosing to live here.

This is also an opportunity for the university to reach out into the community and to learn what we are about.  The exhibition is about making the talent of young people more visible

I also believe this is a key step in building our city for the future by letting young and fresh ideas to be included in our own views about what is best for Lower Hutt.The exhibition is well worth a look before it closes on 11 July.

Avalon an investment in future of Lower Hutt

The decision to purchase Avalon Studios as an operational studio made Lower Hutt a vital link in the creation of film and television projects within the Wellington region.

The studios were purchased from TVNZ by Avalon Holdings Ltd, a consortium headed by businessman John Feast and two Avalon staff members, Paul Mainwaring and Gary Watkins. I had the opportunity to personally thank them for their commitment to Lower Hutt’s future.

I was delighted with the outcome as I had fought hard to keep the studios as a working studio here in Lower Hutt. At one stage I feared Avalon would be converted into office blocks or industrial use.

I lobbied hard through various channels among them the Minister of Broadcasting, TVNZ itself, and hosted film companies to assess the potential of Avalon for future projects – among them interests from China and India.

The decision to keep Avalon operational is a significant opportunity to attract major film and television interests to the city as we build on existing strengths across the Wellington Region.

This confidence in the future of Avalon Studios is a big boost for Lower Hutt and offers potential to encourage young people to develop new skills in film and television.

Avalon is another high profile world class facility that is located here in Lower Hutt along with international companies and science – based industry where people are living local and trading globally.

Lower Hutt is a city with lots of appeal and is attracting young families and professionals looking for a mix of opportunities for local jobs, recreation, and good education for their children within close knit communities.

Avalon is a good example of local enterprise and investment for future growth and development in the area of film and television. I applaud the intiatiive taken by Avalon Holdings Ltd and theier confidence in our shared future..

Free Wi-fi will stimulate business activity in CBD

Free Wi-fi mobility is now available in the central city and that’s what people want.

Everyone is on the move with mobile devices. People will be able to connect and undertake  business outside their office.

Flick out your iPad or Android tablet in High Street, from Waterloo to Laing’s Roads, Andrews Avenue, Margaret Street or even when you are waiting for a bus in Bunny Street. Or do it when you are taking in the arts in the Dowse Square. 

Wi-fi is here and it is free.

I have got to thank all of those who have made this possible. Because I think it is the best thing for our Central Business District.

Certainly our Technology Valley and the Technology Development group saw Wi –fi as the key to getting Lower Hutt recognised as the epicentre of technology for the Wellington region.

There is no doubt that our CBD Wi-Fi would not have been possible without the fibre cable network operated by Smartlinx 3. I wish to thank Roger MacDonald and his team for their willingness to make this happen. They worked with our Hutt City development team to provide a service covering key areas of the CBD.

The cooperation of building owners and managers has also been a significant factor. They gave permission for the antennae to be erected around the CBD to provide the essential connectivity. This support was a critical to the success of the project.

And there has been the wonderful support from our businesses who are enthusiastic about Wi-fi coming to town. We are confident it will help attract more people to the inner city and certainly stamp our mark as the Technology Valley®.

The long-term growth of our economy in Lower Hutt demands fresh thinking and an entrepreneurial attitude, expert input, and involvement and support from the whole community.

So thank you to everyone for your help in making our Lower Hutt CBD Wi-Fi a reality.

And just in case you do not have your own device, we are running a competition with an iPad as the prize – simply send a message from downtown Lower Hutt and you’re in

Hutt City rates rise to average less than one per cent

 Hutt City Council has adopted its Annual Plan for 2012- 2022 which keeps the average rate increase below one per cent while reducing debt.
We are taking positive steps to consolidate our future with this budget which includes continuation of our $1.2 million business stimulus package. Business has responded positively to our initiative in the first year with more than $300 million in development work planned in coming months.

This kind of investment will provide a lift for Lower Hutt as we steadily encourage investment in our city.

The Annual Plan also provides for major community projects including the Taita Community Hub, Fraser Park Sportsville, and redevelopment of the Horticultural and Town halls. They will all make a significant difference and represent a major step forward for our community.

Current economic conditions are still challenging and we are conscious of the need to ensure our rates are held as low as possible. I believe the Council has done its very best to contain costs while improving community facilities and services to our residents and ratepayers.

Ignoring Lower Hutt residents is not democracy

The voice of Lower Hutt residents has been ignored by Greater Wellington Regional Council which has  opted to support a two-tier supercity model.

A large majority of our people do not want a super city and our current surveys are reinforcing that view.  The regional councillors who supported the decision have taken an isolationist approach. They have consistently turned their heads and ignored our views.

Their proposed model has already been rejected by the councils and their communities in Masterton, Carterton, South Wairarapa, Kapiti, Upper Hutt and Hutt City. Our position in Lower Hutt rests with the people we serve.

I have always said our council would ask the people of our community what they prefer and then make a submission based on that preference. Our view has not changed.

The decision of the GWRC compounds our view that they are out of touch with the communities they are elected to serve. We will continue to fight to ensure the voice of Lower Hutt is heard in this discussion on local government reform.

Our community survey, I am sure, will reinforce the opposiotion of our community to a supercity.