Consent application for Hokitika beach access rejected
From local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
Application for consent to build new beach access to the Hokitika beachfront has been rejected by the West Coast Regional Council at this stage.
And the dispute over a $90,000 claim the Westland District Council believes it has with the regional council to contribute to the access project has not been settled.
The proposal to improve access over the rock seawall off the end of Weld Lane was put forward in the Westland District Council's 2020-21 annual plan.
But it has been bogged down after the regional council baulked at a $90,000 invoice it received from the Westland council for its 'share'.
Westland's chief executive Simon Bastion told his council in December the bill was still under discussion.
Westland's district assets group manager Scott Baxendale said this week there was still no start date for the work, after the council had earlier indicated it would be under way by now.
However, they would soon be engaging with the regional council as consent holders for the wall.
"We are still working through the consenting requirements regarding the beach access," Baxendale said.
The district council was commissioning a project manager to move the project on, including gaining the appropriate consents.
Meanwhile, the disputed invoice was "not resolved", he said.
Regional council acting consents and compliance manager Rachel Clark said the Westland council had lodged a consent application late last year relating to ramp access at the beach.
But it had been rejected by the regional council's consultant due to a lack of supporting information with the application.
Clark said they had not received anything further yet from Westland.
Chief executive Heather Mabin said Westland had still been "unable to produce evidence" that the regional council had agreed to partially fund the district council's beach access project.
A forensic search by the regional council of files for any evidence of an agreement about the $90,000 had turned up nought last year.
"[Westland chief executive] Simon Bastion has been unable to produce any evidence or any agreement," she said.
"I have let Simon know we will not be paying an invoice for $90,000."
Mabin said it would simply be "not prudent" to cough up, noting that the Westland bill equated to a $4.50 cost per rating unit, "to build a beach access we haven't officially agreed to".
*Public interest journalism funded through NZ On Air.
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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62.2% Summer
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36.3% Winter
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
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