Brooklyn, Wellington

1697 days ago

Town House Development next to Oku Street Reserve

Ian from Island Bay

17 Townhouses on a single site. That’s what’s underway at the top of High Street in a new development by Gibbons Co. Butting right up against the Oku Reserve this is definitely on a fast-track process.

As the development is deemed by WCC to have ‘less than minimal impact’ any … View more
17 Townhouses on a single site. That’s what’s underway at the top of High Street in a new development by Gibbons Co. Butting right up against the Oku Reserve this is definitely on a fast-track process.

As the development is deemed by WCC to have ‘less than minimal impact’ any consultation has only taken place on the initiative, time and money of concerned local residents.

Before the label ‘nimby’ starts circulating I’d like to emphasise that everyone I’ve spoken to has been quite reasonable about accepting some intensification – in fact that’s already been happening in the street. For my own part as a tutor of music I could well see this as a good opportunity for more business locally. However I don’t see being concerned, for example, with the safety of children on the narrow street (potential for amount of traffic from upper high street to double) or the future integrity of the existing water network as being “nimbyish”. One of my concerns is that the development is being built above a historic slip site at the head of Valley Street. Now why should that worry me as I don’t live there?

But this is not a sensible mode of intensification that we are seeing. This is extremist intensification – pushing the boundaries of what the existing infrastructure and the affected community can cope with.

With this company having deep pockets, multiple developments on the go and seemingly given the green light to go ahead without full consultation (probably with the excuse of the housing crisis) it seems reasonable to open up a more open conversation about what our city should look like – and be able to stand – in the way of future development.

So what would a moderate and let’s say ‘considerate’ intensification look like? Here are three ideas.

1. A build design that blends in and is adapted to the existing landscape both natural and built.
2. A comfortable margin of error to maintain existing levels of such things as parking, water pressure, storm water run-off. (I don’t think anyone can be 100% certain that major climate change events are not going to get worse in future.)
3. An allowance for meaningful input by the local community who after all don’t have the resources available to either the council or developers so can hardly pose an existential threat to the success or otherwise of the project.

As far as I can see, the above conditions haven’t been met by Gibbons Co, rather the developers or WCC have decided that ‘leeway’ should be given in a kind of ‘winner takes all’ scenario. The whole process has sadly left may people living here feeling demoralised, disenfranchised and downright cynical, rightly or wrongly, about the whole developer WCC interface.

With many millions of dollars to be made from such a development Gibbons Co – and the WCC – can do better I’m sure.

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1690 days ago

RNZ FM Concert Station being shut down!!!

Max from Mount Cook

And being replaced by a low quality AM service...

Haven't seen anything on Neighbourly about this yet...

From: wellington.scoop.co.nz...

Just yesterday, Paul Thompson, the Chief Executive of Radio New Zealand and Willy Macalister, Music Content Director, announced that they would be … View more
And being replaced by a low quality AM service...

Haven't seen anything on Neighbourly about this yet...

From: wellington.scoop.co.nz...

Just yesterday, Paul Thompson, the Chief Executive of Radio New Zealand and Willy Macalister, Music Content Director, announced that they would be changing the nature of New Zealand’s only Art Music Radio station – RNZ Concert. They propose that RNZ Concert will cease broadcasting on FM (in order to free up slots), and move to AM and streaming services. Furthermore, they propose that the broadcast be largely automated, delivered by a skeletal crew. It appears to be similar to a constantly evolving Spotify playlist. Gone will be the in-depth shows that showcase New Zealand Art Music and its practitioners.


Sign the petition to stop this happening

secure.avaaz.org...

1690 days ago

Additional Bus Services to Hataitai from Monday 10 Feb

Roger from Roseneath

Metlink Posted the following on Friday 7 Feb 2020:
‘A’ for additional bus services from 10 February.
To work with the ongoing bus resource and driver shortage, four of the current suspended services will be serviced by ‘additional’ services. There’ll also be 15 more Route 2 services on … View more
Metlink Posted the following on Friday 7 Feb 2020:
‘A’ for additional bus services from 10 February.
To work with the ongoing bus resource and driver shortage, four of the current suspended services will be serviced by ‘additional’ services. There’ll also be 15 more Route 2 services on the road from 10 February.
These services will have the letter ‘a’ at the end of the route number and will be provided by Mana Coach Services so the buses will look different to the usual Metlink buses which operate this route.
These trips won’t be visible on the RTI or our Metlink website timetable until 8 March, so please see the Service Update for the full list of services. www.metlink.org.nz...
Know before you go and keep up with changes as they happen. Visit Metlink.org.nz or call the Metlink team on 0800 801 700.

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1690 days ago

VUW Coastal Ecology Lab Open Day (Saturday 7th March 2020)

Carl from Brooklyn Residents Association Incorporated

VUW (Victoria University of Wellington) Coastal Ecology lab Open Day (located between Island Bay and Owhiro Bay) 7th March (currently incorrect on their webpage but being corrected) - very much worth a look and putting in your diary and a couple of hours of your time. Not in our immediate … View moreVUW (Victoria University of Wellington) Coastal Ecology lab Open Day (located between Island Bay and Owhiro Bay) 7th March (currently incorrect on their webpage but being corrected) - very much worth a look and putting in your diary and a couple of hours of your time. Not in our immediate "patch" but interesting nonetheless...www.wgtn.ac.nz...

1694 days ago

PayMyPark

The Team from Wellington City Council

PayMyPark is the one app that makes parking a breeze! Control your payment from your phone, only pay for the time you use, and find a park easier with live updates about free spaces from our website! Download PayMyPark today from the App Store or Google Play: www.paymypark.com...

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1690 days ago

Toastmasters Youth Leadership Programme in Wellington

Weng from Kelburn

Greetings to all my Neighbourly friends.

We have this great opportunity to help to establish a Toastmasters International Youth Leadership Programme in Wellington. The programme is suitable for youth between 11 and 17. If you are a parent who wants your kid(s) to have a head start and confidence … View more
Greetings to all my Neighbourly friends.

We have this great opportunity to help to establish a Toastmasters International Youth Leadership Programme in Wellington. The programme is suitable for youth between 11 and 17. If you are a parent who wants your kid(s) to have a head start and confidence in public speaking then this is a good opportunity to sign them up. We need at least 12 youth to start a course. The venue and frequency will be determined once we have the numbers. We also need your involvement in making this a possibility for our youth in this leadership programme. This is still in exploratory stage. So please be patient.

Private Message me with your name and email address if you are interested to be involved or signing up your kids, and I will send you the expression of interest form and more information when I get them from the Toastmasters Youth Leadership Advisor. They are eager to form the first Toastmasters Youth Charter in Wellington. The Charter will be adhere to the Toastmasters International established standards and guidelines.

The below link is some information I got from the Toastmasters International website. Look forward to hearing from you. I've already been in touch with the Toastmasters Youth Leadership Advisor for advice.

www.toastmasters.org.nz...

The 6-8 week course will cover:

Over-coming the fear of speaking
Impromptu speaking
Preparing & presenting speeches – structure and presentation skills
Running meetings
They will gain confidence by impromptu speaking and presenting prepared speeches throughout the course

Look forward to hearing from you. Thanks.

1690 days ago

Suzanne Aubert Scout Group - Come Join the Fun!

Suzanne Aubert from Newtown

Come Join the Fun! Email suzanneaubert@group.scouts.nz to arrange a free trial!

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1691 days ago

Package missing

Lisa from Island Bay

Hey anyone accidentally get delivered a package with prescription eye glasses? I know I’ve receive a package for someone that lived a block away so here’s to hoping it didn’t get snagged but instead got misdelivered 😊

1690 days ago

Water outage - Ohiro Rd (09/02/2020)

Carl from Brooklyn Residents Association Incorporated

FYI...water outage (hopefully temporary) in southern Brooklyn / Ohiro Road...taken from WCC FB feed...

"Water is currently off due to a burst main between 287-297 Ohiro Rd Brooklyn. This water outage is also affecting some nearby streets. Wellington Water is onsite however water had to be … View more
FYI...water outage (hopefully temporary) in southern Brooklyn / Ohiro Road...taken from WCC FB feed...

"Water is currently off due to a burst main between 287-297 Ohiro Rd Brooklyn. This water outage is also affecting some nearby streets. Wellington Water is onsite however water had to be shut off to get the emergency repairs done. Water will likely be back on in about 3-4 hours. In the meantime, the team on site have bottled water available from outside 297 Ohiro Road if any residents require it".

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1690 days ago

Drinks Trolley/Cocktail Cart

Nell from Kelburn

Black metal and glass drinks trolley, very stylish and functional. Could also be used as kitchen or bedroom storage.

Price: $20

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1690 days ago

FREE Leftover Christmas Cards

Nell from Kelburn

Nice glittery cards with envelopes. Selection of designs.

Negotiable

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1690 days ago

Whiskey Decanter

Nell from Kelburn

Very nice whiskey decanter for very nice whiskey!

Price: $10

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1690 days ago

HP Deskjet 2131 Printer and Scanner

Nell from Kelburn

Good condition Deskjet printer and scanner with some black ink and paper

Price: $20

1690 days ago

Plants for sale

Lou from Island Bay

We have baby plants for sale at 11a Beach Street $2-$8 with an honesty box system, just pop your money into the mail box.

Many thanks and hope you enjoy!

Negotiable

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1706 days ago

Bus Network Timetable Changes from 26 Jan

Roger from Roseneath

Check out any bus network timetable changes from 26 Jan that might affect you in Hataitai, Lyall Bay, Newtown, Kilbirnie, Seatoun, Karori, Miramar, Strathmore, University, Northland, Wrights Hill, Wilton, Roseneath, Mt Vic, Eastbourne. All changes are up on the Metlink website, detailed under the … View moreCheck out any bus network timetable changes from 26 Jan that might affect you in Hataitai, Lyall Bay, Newtown, Kilbirnie, Seatoun, Karori, Miramar, Strathmore, University, Northland, Wrights Hill, Wilton, Roseneath, Mt Vic, Eastbourne. All changes are up on the Metlink website, detailed under the route neighbourhoods - www.metlink.org.nz...

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